


Wandering Far

by KuroRiya



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Human Experimentation, It's relatively mild compared to a lot of LiS fics, Like seriously Chloe smokes all the time, Max still has powers, Military, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Road Trips, Slow Burn, With some dark shit occasionally, but it is there, but mostly it's just hella fluffy all the time, of course, probably, some lesbian sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-11 16:15:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5633005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuroRiya/pseuds/KuroRiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After escaping from a military bunker, Max finds herself on the run in a world she knows very little about, with powers she never asked for. But a girl with hair like a sunset and a truck that doesn't look like it could go a mile down the road is happy to help her learn the ropes while taking her on her first ever road trip across the United States. With the government surely after her and Chloe's best friend missing, it shouldn't be a very fun trip, and yet...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Beeping noises would annoy anyone, anywhere, after a while. Maxine was no exception. Quite contrary; she knew the frustration of the noise better than most people probably did. Constantly hooked up to machines, passing through doors only by the permission of a scientist's identification card, monitored in sleep by countless cameras, recorders, and devices meant to measure her body's activity.

It usually faded into the background, forgotten and unnoticeable. But on occasion she'd notice, and find herself squeezing her ears between her hands in a bid to block out the maddening noise. It wasn't ever truly quiet around her. Would it be better if it were, or worse, she wondered?

At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to yank the electrodes from her forehead, smash in the beeping machine they were connected to, and make a run for it before any of the armed military officers could even blink. But then her parents would be in danger. And what were the chances she'd actually make it? The scientists always said she wasn't strong enough to make it on her own, abilities or not.

Sometimes she wondered if she was stupid to let them keep her locked up in a military bunker. The obvious answer, of course, would be yes, but it wasn't that simple. She was heavily guarded. The bunker was made to keep her in. They could take her parents out any time they liked. She had limits.

"Max, pay attention." Jefferson snapped at her, his usually professional façade falling for a moment as he sent her a warning look.

Originally, she'd liked Jefferson. He treated her more like a person than the other scientists did. Rather, he _did_ , at first. He quickly became consumed in his research on her, his need for information and results growing until he'd lost any feeling for her. In the end, he'd become just short of aggressive with her at any given point. Nowadays, she did her best to just keep her head down and do what he said to get things over with as quickly as possible.

"I know that you're getting tired of repeating this exercise, but it's a necessary check in. You know this." He reasoned, pulling things from his pocket. Max mustered as much interest as she could for the objects, memorizing their details with almost careless laziness. Jefferson wasn't impressed.

She raised her hand, taking a bracing breath before focusing. The sensation that she couldn't quite explain, sort of like every muscle in her body was tensing at once, flared up. As usual, she pushed past it and began to warp time-space, waiting till Jefferson had replaced the items in his pockets to put her hand down and release her small grip on the fabric of the universe.

"-tting tired of repeating-" He was saying again. She interrupted.

"Your I.D. card, a green mechanical pencil with point seven lead, a cleaning cloth for your glasses, and a micro SD card from a digital camera." She listed off, planting her chin in her palm to prop herself up on the table. It was a little too tall a table for it to be comfortable, but oh well.

"Very good, Max, but I don't appreciate the attitude. That'll be all for today." Jefferson concluded, though he still looked relatively peeved. His patience for what he'd once called her 'spunk' had been waning lately. Where once she could get in a few sarcastic jibes, he was quick to backhand her at the mere glimmer of attitude.

Max was quick to pull herself free and beat a hasty retreat. She didn't hesitate outside the door, knowing a guard would follow her either way. Sure enough, footsteps sounded behind her as she went down the hall, waiting at each checkpoint for the guard to scan their card. Each beeping confirmation made her cringe, but she didn't say anything, going into her room wordlessly when they arrived. She heard the heavy locks sliding into place as she was left alone (though always under surveillance) and sighed as she collapsed on the bed.

Time passed without value while she had her face pressed into the blankets. If she stayed there long enough, would they think she'd suffocated herself? It'd provide a little excitement, if nothing else.

"Maxine?"

Sure enough, a voice came over the intercom. Jefferson.

"Max, if you can hear me, you need to get up. It's too early for you to go to sleep."

This 'checking in' only irritated her further. Everything had been irritating her lately. Every time they made her do something, it only made her wish she could do just the opposite. Just to be spiteful.

But then, she might also get in trouble. And she didn't feel like getting a 'lecture.' The last one was still healing.

She rolled over, reaching idly for her guitar as she sat up. It'd taken a lot of arguing, but she'd finally convinced the scientists to let her keep the present that her parents had brought her for her tenth birthday. It was one of the early years in the base, shortly before she'd been moved into the bunker, when they still visited for every holiday. It hadn't gone over well, but it was eventually decided that it wouldn't be too much of a risk, and would provide her with something to do with her free time other than cry or bang her head on the wall.

There were stacks upon stacks of CDs and music books that she'd pored over, spending her years memorizing more songs than she could probably count. Her fingers naturally began picking out familiar melodies, softly strumming as she hummed absentmindedly.

For her, it was normalcy. It was her everyday. She knew that it wasn't the way other people lived. She also knew that she'd never escape. Why let herself hope? Other people got to be proper teenagers, like the ones from the movies she sometimes got treated to. Other people didn't spend their days constantly monitored and guarded.

Other people couldn't rewind time.

She wished, as she had more times in her life than she'd blinked, probably, that she'd never said anything to her parents. At the time, what else could she do? She was eight years old, a sheltered child, and able to go back in time. Of course she'd gone to her parents.

It'd taken a few psychologists and a monitored room to discover that she was telling the truth. Watching a little girl teleport around a room would convince just about anyone that she had some sort of control over time-space.

After that, it'd been bases, then bunkers, always more security than wherever she'd come from. Even though she'd never given them a reason to fear her, she was often escorted at gunpoint. She'd once made the mistake of trying to play a prank on a scientist and had been shot in the arm without a second thought. The scar served as a reminder, peeking out under the sleeves of the t-shirts she was given to wear.

A beep from her left signaled that someone was entering the room, and Max set her guitar aside in preparation. Nathan Prescott stood in the door. The clock in the hallway behind him informed her that a few hours had passed since she'd returned. She spent only a split second gathering this information before her eyes darted back to Nathan and began taking in details, searching for red flags.

Nathan Prescott was in a similar situation; He too had some sort of ability. Max wasn't allowed to know what. However, he was also the son of a high ranking military officer, so he got some special leniencies. Like the freedom to roam the bunker throughout most of the day, only forced to return to his room at night. It was ironic, because he was far more unstable than Max, and she'd heard on occasion that he'd lashed out and hurt a few of the guards. Goes to show how far influence will get you in life.

It was bizarre, though, for him to be coming into Max's room. They weren't really allowed to have contact outside of what the scientists facilitated. She was sure that someone would come over the intercom any moment and tell him that he needed to leave.

She was starting to hope so, because her search for red flags had been more than fruitful. Dilated pupils, heavy breathing, dodgy eye contact, clenching and unclenching fists, was that blood on his shirt? His nose was bleeding.

"Nathan?" She finally hissed, darting to her feet and taking a step back, unsure if she ought to approach the intruder. He didn't make any move toward her, though. Another red flag; Nathan was usually a very 'in-your-face' sort of person.

"They're going to kill us." He blurted abruptly. Max blinked, brows furrowing as she looked him up and down, as if he might be carrying something that might help her better understand. No such luck.

"What?" She demanded, hesitating between a step forward and a step back.

"I was eavesdropping. They're doing it today." He said, voice wavering between too soft and much too loud. Almost to himself: "They're scared of us, think we're too getting too fucking powerful. I saw Jefferson pull the doses."

Max swallowed. This was crazy. She'd always thought Nathan was. He'd been nothing but unpleasant to her the few times they'd interacted. Beyond that, they were being studied and trained to use their abilities to the advantage of the military. Why on earth would they kill their own weapons?

But then, what good did it do Nathan to lie to her? It seemed far-fetched that he'd risk getting in trouble just to pull the wool over her eyes. And he was definitely splattered in blood. And it was much too quiet. Where were the alarms? Where were the guards? Where was Jefferson?

"I took out the guards manning the security system. I'm getting the fuck out of here." He concluded, glancing at her fleetingly once more before turning and bolting down the hall.

Max stared after him, mouth slightly agape, still frozen as she had been while Nathan spoke to her. Her mind raced to process the information, still torn between trusting Nathan and fearing punishment. This could all be a test to see if she was obedient enough. If she waited, she might be rewarded.

Or she might be dead.

Finally, she snapped into action, heading for the door. She spared the room a glance, biting her lip as she parted with her scarce possessions. Only a moment, though, for the alarms finally kicked on, and kicked her into gear. She tore down the hallways that she knew, running as fast as her legs could carry her. She came up short as she realized that her mental map of the bunker ended long before the exit.

At a fork, her head whipped painfully fast to look at each hallway. Grimacing, she went left, desperately hoping luck was on her side. Especially since she could hear thundering footsteps behind her, warning her of the incoming armed guards.

No such luck, she found, as she rammed into a door that led to a cafeteria. A dead end. The guards were right behind her. She had to rewind.

It made her head ache, but she sprinted back while urging time to follow suit, gasping as the strain overwhelmed her and she lost her hold, time resuming around her. She kept running, this time to the right.

Her lungs burned, but she blindly ran forward, picking directions at random. It seemed that fate was going to show her the first kindness she'd seen in a long time, though. She never thought she'd be so overwhelmingly relieved to see Nathan Prescott. With a very small use of her ability, she caught up to him, and they darted around corners as quickly as they could together.

Still, the military guards were faster, and were gaining on them quickly. Max only barely kept her balance as the sound of a bullet whizzing by startled her. But they were so close. She could see the door that was freedom. Nathan sprinted ahead of her, slamming against the door. He ripped a handful of freshly bloodstained ID cards from a pocket and began swiping them one by one. Each yielded the same negative result, and were discarded without thought.

The guards rounded the corner. The bullets got too close for comfort. Snatching up the cards on the ground, Max grit her teeth and rewound to before Nathan had begun swiping the ID cards. When she released her control, he pulled the few remaining IDs from his pocket, swiping through the entire pile. Still no clearance. Max's heart felt like it was pumping pure ice instead of blood.

Nathan caught her eye. The guards were only a second away.

"Close your eyes." He commanded.

Max, for once in her life, overcame her nosy nature, and didn't open her eyes again until she felt Nathan yank on her arm. Her eyes went wide as they focused. The room was littered with the bodies of the guards, every one bleeding out heavily through gaping wounds. Not a one so much as twitched.

There are some things that a person will never forget seeing. Max was confident this would be one of them. It was horrific, but she forced herself to look away, turning instead to the door. She didn't have time to feel guilty yet. She had to finish escaping.

Max wondered what sort of ability Nathan had. It allowed him to kill all of the guards and collect their IDs in a matter of seconds. She could see why they were scared of him. But then, couldn't she be just as frightening? If she wanted to, she could do terrible things too. It was her choice not to that made her different than Nathan.

Finally, one of the cards received clearance, and the door slid open. Real sunshine flooded the small room. Max couldn't even remember what real sunshine looked like. It was so beautiful. Her first glimpse of sky was a brilliant blue, wisping away at the bottom into violets and pinks. It stained her vision, just as memorable as the bodies but in an entirely different way. She didn't have time to stare, though; the door was already sliding shut. Nathan Prescott was on the other side. Max had to take it at a run, but she cleared the door just as it closed. She spared the entrance to the bunker only one glance before racing off after Nathan.

They'd neglected to anticipate the guards outside, a foolish move. Bullets rained upon them yet again. The only hope was to run, and they stayed as close as they could without risking a collision. Too many bullets streaked right by her ears, a few catching the ends of her hair and shearing off chunks.

Somehow, though, it seemed like they were going to make it. If they could just get through the fence. It was locked, but when she'd turned back after sparing a fearful glance at the guards still firing after them she found that Nathan had obliterated the lock entirely, a gaping hole in its place. Just like the guards. No time.

She turned to run through, but in the same second she saw a bullet pass straight through Nathan's head, his body crumpling to the ground.

For a moment, she considered leaving him. He'd been downright rotten to her. He'd made her already miserable existence slightly more miserable. He'd killed all those guards. What right did he have, even if they were trying to kill him? Shouldn't he try to be better than them?

But then, he'd saved her. He could have escaped by himself. He would have had a head start. It would have been totally different. He might have made it out without a scratch. But he'd stopped to warn Max. He'd helped her find the exit. He'd even spared her from watching him kill the guards, the only thing that could have been worse than seeing the aftermath.

Wasn't he just another victim of circumstance? Another scared teenager that had frightening abilities they didn't ask for, locked away and treated like a science experiment?

Time froze for a moment as she found a grip on reality and willed it backwards. She kept going till Nathan returned to his feet in an unsettling backwards rendition of his deadweight falling, blood seeping back into the wound before it disappeared altogether. She kept going for a moment longer, then let go and shoved Nathan through the gate, stumbling after him while narrowly avoiding the same bullet that would have killed him.

A few more bullets sailed in their general direction, but they'd made it. Even as they took to the forest, lungs and legs on fire, Max couldn't help but allow herself a small smile in celebration. It fell as she struggled to keep up with Nathan. He was fast. But he eventually ran out of stamina and collapsed to the ground when they'd come to a heavily wooded area.

Max fell to her knees beside him, her breathing just as labored. There was no point trying to talk, they could hardly even breathe. And it stayed that way for minutes. Then she started shaking, body crashing from adrenaline. Even so, she looked to Nathan, taking in for the first time his state.

"Oh my god, your nose is bleeding." She gasped dumbly. It was an understatement. The front of his shirt was mostly red, some dried around his mouth and chin. It was still wet close to his nose.

"No fucking shit. Looked down recently?" He wondered. Max did just that, noticing that she too had a red stain forming at the collar of her shirt. It was nowhere near as big as Nathan's, and when she wiped her nose on her arm it flaked away rather than smearing.

"I think you should take it easy." She cautioned. If it was the same for him, and it seemed that it was, then his nose was bleeding because he was overusing his ability. He scoffed.

Sensing the conversation was over, she resumed her self-checkup, examining from her shoulders to the tips of her fingers. She read over the medical wristband that had her name and some numbers written down. With some effort, she ripped it off, tossing it aside. She didn't need it anymore. They didn't own her.

Escaping had been gone surprisingly well. She almost wished she'd tried sooner. Maybe she could have been free years ago? Why hadn't she tried?

Her gasp drew Nathan's attention, and he didn't seem surprised when she began panicking about her parents. He didn't seem sympathetic either.

"T-They're going to kill them!" She cried again, as if to emphasize this to him. He rolled his eyes, as if she'd said something trivial. As if it was annoying that she was worried.

"They're already dead." He dismissed.

She considered punching him in the face, but decided he'd been dealt enough damage already.

"How could you say something so horrible?" She demanded, eyes watery.

"Because it's true. You think it's a coincidence they haven't visited in over a year? Last time they visited they got escorted right out your door and into the morgue with enough poison in their veins to take out five grown fucking men. It's done. Get over it. I'm not staying here. You can follow me till we find somewhere safer, if you want. But we're not sticking together." He warned.

Max wanted to just curl up and cry until she couldn't anymore, then maybe sleep for a few hours, and cry some more. But she didn't have time to mourn at the moment. If she lost Nathan, then she would be alone in a world she didn't know anything about anymore. She couldn't risk that. She'd have to grieve later.

They resumed running, jogging this time to preserve their waning energy. They didn't talk, but that was fine. It allowed them to focus on their surroundings. They had to be on alert for pursuers, but it was also their first time experiencing anything outside of military bunkers in many years. They sky changed colors before their eyes, animals scurried across their path, trees shook in the wind. It was all whimsy and grace, and Max wished she could indulge in sensation. She knew better, though. She'd be more likely to have time for that later if she kept running.

True to his word, Nathan parted her company as soon as they found the first signs of civilization. They'd passed a few farms, eventually finding a neighboring town. They came to a stop at the outskirts, and turned to face each other. They stared at one another briefly, and Max decided to make her peace with Nathan Prescott in that moment.

"Good luck." She bid, sounding braver in the face of being alone than she felt. Nathan's lips twitched a moment as if he had considered smiling, but it never came, and he responded with silence. Max understood, though. She let him pick a direction, then went in the opposite one.

A sense of urgency kept her walking in search of some form of transportation. She knew she needed to get further away. This town would be one of the first places she was searched for, seeing as it was the first one they'd stumbled across. She needed to get out before that happened. But her eyes wandered, taking in all of the strange nuances of the real world.

She had a basic grasp on things from movies. It was a treat that she'd been allowed only because the scientists claimed she needed to have at least an idea what was out there in case she ever wound up on the field. The movies were all prescreened and censored for content, but she had always watched with rapt attention, clinging to the one thread of society dangled within her reach.

Still, it was different to see it in person. It had been ten years since she'd been outside. Her memories of cars and streets and buildings and shops were fuzzy at best. She observed people as unobtrusively as she could, watching what they did to see if it was of any use to her. Could she get a car? She didn't know how to drive, though. And didn't you need a card to do that? She didn't have any IDs. She got the distinct feeling it wouldn't do to try and get one either.

But surely there were ways to get around without a car. How did one get on a train or an airplane? Where could she even find one? It was starting to dawn on her that she was going to have to ask someone for help.

Who could she trust, though? How much should she tell them? Would they help her?

She couldn't just wait to be found, though. She just had to do it. No time to think.

"U-Um, could you tell me… How to… I need to-" The woman she'd stopped was giving her a funny look, and Max lost her nerve, escaping into an alley. It took her a while to work up the nerve to try again. In the time it took, she'd walked around and learned as much as she could about her situation. A newspaper informed her of her location, and she watched a small group of people get into a bus. She'd forgotten about buses.

Looking at the sign, she learned where the main station was, and finally worked up the nerve to try asking for help again. With more direction, it came out easier.

"Please, could you tell me how to get to that bus station?" She asked, pointing the sign out to the man that had been walking by. He glanced at it, and then her, scrutinizing both briefly before turning.

"Walk up this street four blocks, go right, then walk another six blocks." He offered. He didn't wait to make sure that she had heard, walking off quickly.

How much was a block? All she could do was walk, turning right at some point and hoping she'd gotten lucky. Thirty minutes later, though, and she still wasn't even sure how many blocks she'd walked. And she hadn't seen anything that indicated itself as a bus station.

Another woman offered her a new set of directions. She'd gone much too far. She was now nearly twenty blocks away from the station. That helped her gauge the distance. The next time she asked for guidance, the woman offered to just walk her to the station, since it was so close. Two minutes later, she was nervously looking around what was apparently her destination.

Habit dictated that she look around, and she found all the exits and a display with maps to be the only things of real interest. Well, that and a case displaying food. It was sealed with a window, though, so she couldn't get to any of it. She did take a map, though, locating herself on it.

When she went up to the counter, it was with the map in tow. She smoothed it out on the counter, then pointed to the squiggly shape as far away from her current squiggly shape as was possible without running into the blue she knew represented the ocean. It was labeled Maine.

"I need to go here. Now, if it's possible." She explained.

The lady behind the counter looked unimpressed, glancing between the map and Max a few times.

"I can get you to L.A. or Portland." She replied. Max's brows furrowed.

"U-Uh, which one is further?" She stuttered, her foggy knowledge of geography failing her.

Again, the same look.

"L.A. More expensive, too."

The fact that she'd forgotten that the real world revolved around paper currency came crashing down on Max, and her face fell. How was she going to get anywhere without money? How was she going to get money?

The woman sighed loudly. Loud enough that it snapped Max out of her thoughts. She made to beat a retreat, but before she could take a step, the woman slid a piece of paper under the glass dividing them. Max looked at it, realizing that it was the ticket she needed to get on the bus.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't have-"

"I know you don't. I used to have a guy that beat on me. Sometimes you just gotta run." She said, nodding as Max took the ticket. "There's a lost and found 'round that corner. Take anything that you can use, no one's coming for that shit. There's a bathroom over that way too. You should clean up. The bus'll be here in twenty."

Max wasn't sure how to feel about the kindness, but she knew she'd been shown a great amount, so she thanked the woman graciously before doing as she was told.

The 'lost and found' was filled with an assortment of objects she could only label as random. But she managed to salvage a long sleeved shirt that was only a few sizes too big for her when she buttoned it over the one she was still wearing from the bunker. She also found a soft blue scarf, a few packages of abandoned food, and a small bag to store them in. This all went into the small bathroom with her.

When she emerged, she'd cleaned as much of the grime off herself as she could. All she could do from there was sit and anxiously wait for the bus to come, praying that it did before anyone could find her. When it did pull up, she leapt to her feet, scurrying for the door.

"Be careful in L.A. Get out of there fast as you can. Place like that'll spit you out worse than you are now. Good luck." The woman called, popping her head out of the little office area to speak to her. Max waved, then boarded the bus. After an awkward exchange with the driver involving her ticket (rather, her failure to produce it upon boarding) she had safely seated herself near the back. A few other people got on, but none of them said a word to her. In fact, none of them even spared her a glance.

When the bus began moving, she felt safe for the first time in… Well, she was probably safer than she'd ever been. Even with the military surely after her, she was at least poison free and her location was of yet unknown. If she could avoid them long enough, she could probably fade away from history quietly. She was on the right track.

It didn't take long for her to eat her way through the snacks she'd procured, and she was definitely still hungry. But she knew she could survive for days without food. It wasn't her top priority. She could get food when the bus stopped. For now, distance was more important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4/22: Uploaded a slightly edited version. Very little was changed, mostly just fixing some typos and wording issues, with a bit of word fluff added here and there. If you've already read chapter one before, you'd be alright if you didn't read it again. Not much will be different.


	2. Chapter 2

Max found herself wandering unfamiliar streets yet again. It was becoming apparent that she was not very good at following instructions, because no matter how many times she asked for directions to the bus station she couldn't seem to find it. Her heart was racing with urgency. It felt like there was someone right behind her, waiting to shoot her just as soon as she turned around.

Finally the station came into view, familiar. The woman behind the counter slid her a ticket when she approached. But when she reached to take it, the woman snatched it away, laughing.

"LA is dangerous. You best just go with that man there." She suggested, pointing to the space over the brunette's shoulder.

Max turned, stumbling back as she found the man in question to be Jefferson, brandishing a syringe full of what could only be her death. As if he was the one with rewind abilities, he appeared to teleport, and next thing she knew the needle was sinking into her neck. As her consciousness withered, so did her vision, fading to a blackness that pervaded for what felt like eternity. Then she was aware of a sensation of falling, and she looked down, shrieking as she hurtled towards the bodies of Nathan's massacre, as if to join them.

When she jolted awake on the bus, most of the other passengers were staring at her. She must have screamed in her sleep. They didn't seem pleased, but everyone went back to their normal business, and Max decided she'd better try to avoid sleeping till she got off the bus. That probably wouldn't fly a second time.

They came to a stop shortly after she woke, and she got out with the other passengers to use the bathroom and stretch her legs. The smell of food permeated the tiny building called a gas station from the attached diner. It made her stomach growl, but she wasn't going to push her luck. Getting the ticket had been lucky. That should be enough for one day.

She was the first back on the bus, and her hunger only seemed to grow as she waited for the other passengers to return, one by one. Most of them had rustled up at least a snack. Her mind was blind with jealousy. When they pulled back onto the highway, her stomach admitted defeat, and the hunger pains left her for the time being.

By the time that they'd stopped again, though, she was fighting a losing battle. She'd been awake far too long, hadn't eaten in roughly two days, and had been staring out of the same window for longer than she could even remember.

She got out to use the bathroom and freshen up again, stumbling as she went. She was getting dizzy. But no matter how long she stared at the food, she couldn't make it hers. No matter how much she wished for money, it would not appear for her.

It dawned on her, then, that she was being silly. She could bend time-space; She didn't need money! While some part of her knew it was morally wrong, if only because she'd been told so, her desperation won out. She was giddy at the mere thought of filling her belly.

But she bit it down, trying to behave like the other travelers did. She collected whatever looked good, carefully piling it in her arms until she could carry no more. With a little effort she tipped it all onto the counter. The man began ringing each thing up, bagging them carelessly and setting the bags on the counter once they were full.

"That'll be $48.43." He announced. But instead of paying, Max took the bags and walked out. The man didn't even have the wits about him to protest until after the door had already closed behind her. She ran for the bus, climbing inside before raising her hand to force time backwards, going further back than she needed to, just to be safe.

Sure enough, when she glanced out the window and into the station, the man at the counter was mindlessly ringing up the customer that had been before Max in line. She sighed in relief, sinking into her seat and rummaging through the bags.

She'd gone through a sandwich, a bag of beef jerky, two bags of chips, and a bottle of water by the time all the others boarded again. It was tempting to just eat it all, but she knew better, and set the bags aside for later. She needed to make it last; She couldn't rely on her abilities too much.

It became apparent at some point that there were signs denoting locations along the road, and she began using them to track their progress on the map. She also found Los Angeles after some searching. She was disappointed to find that it wasn't very far from where she'd started at all, but it was a start.

She'd watched cities and towns of varying sizes roll by her window, but none quite like Los Angeles. Her vision was filled with lights as they drove closer, countless signs flashing, cars creeping through traffic, buses, trains, skyscrapers lit up practically to the clouds. She'd never seen anything like it.

She was dropped off at a much bigger station. The employees there didn't pay her any mind, and she quickly left after using the bathroom one last time. She stumbled out of the station and onto the crowded street. People bumped into her until she eventually gave in and just began to follow the flow of foot traffic. It wasn't as if she had a destination in mind.

The first thing she needed to find was a place to stay. Her attempt to stay awake the remainder of the bus ride had been successful, but that, along with the exertion from escaping, had her about ready to drop. She wasn't sure how she was going to pull that off, though, even with her power. She knew people stayed at hotels when they traveled. But if she tried to sneak into a hotel, they'd eventually find her, no doubt.

It wasn't worth the risk. She'd have to figure something else out. Which, an hour later, proved to be a gazebo in a public park. Unable to find any alternative, and just as unable to stay awake anymore, she curled up on the bench, hoping that the trees that surrounded the area would keep anyone from bothering her before she could wake up and move on.

No such luck though; She woke to the sounds of a man shouting at her. She recognized the uniform as police, and didn't hesitate to rewind until he was out of sight. It winded her, especially so early in the morning. But the police wouldn't think twice about handing her over to the military, and that was worth the exertion.

She beat a hasty retreat before he could spot her again, yawning as she squinted against the early sun. Her body was stiff from sleeping on the hard surface, but she was otherwise alright. Well, as alright as she ever was anyway.

The rest of her day was going to be spent trying to find three things; Food, money, and a way to get further east. Food would come with the money, but she didn't know where to start looking for that. She knew that people got jobs to get money, but that was a long term thing, and she didn't have a long term. She needed a lot, fast. But how?

And apparently her luck had run out, as far as the kindness of strangers went. No one even spared her a glance when she tried to use the same tactic at other stations. No one was as sympathetic as the first lady. And that meant no more free bus rides.

So money became her first priority.

But she knew so little about it. Surely there had to be a way to get a lot in a hurry. But she had no idea where to even get a small amount. Did she just walk in and ask to work? Anywhere?

When she tried saying that she needed money or a job, though, people just sort of laughed at her and walked off, or else they gave her a pitying look and sent her on her way with apologies or a couple of dollars. Not even a tip on where to go, or how to do it better. She was at a loss.

People were surprisingly cruel. The woman at the bus station had been a fortunate first encounter, but it had left her unprepared to deal with the rudeness that she faced from the strangers she stopped in LA. Most wouldn't even let her finish explaining what she wanted, scoffing or even shoving her aside before stomping off. Were most people like that? And it was getting dark again, which meant that she needed to find another place to sleep.

Obviously sleeping outside wasn't exactly allowed, as she'd sort of suspected, and she didn't want to risk putting herself in a situation where she could be found while she was unconscious again. Too risky. She couldn't just let herself into a house, though.

So, crazy as it sounded, a hotel was starting to sound like her best bet.

Lucky for her, she'd managed to wander into an area that didn't see as much traffic as where she'd been dropped off. The buildings weren't as new, and the signs had a few lights out here and there, but it was much easier to get around, and she assumed that it would be easier to sneak around with fewer people about to see her.

It didn't take her long to find a sign that said motel. She figured that was probably the same idea, and slipped around the back, stepping carefully through the brush that grew close to the windows. She glanced into any that weren't lit up inside until she found one that didn't appear to have any sign of an occupant.

Gritting her teeth, she searched out a sizable rock from the brush, happening upon an apparently abandoned old truck parked in the tall grass just out of sight of the motel. She briefly considered sleeping in there instead, but decided the bed sounded more promising. Rock in hand, she returned and threw it at the glass.

It shattered with a sound that seemed deafening, and she scrambled to duck inside. She could already hear people reacting. Her heart raced as she rewound, watching each shard of glass tuck itself back into place. She listened for any sign of alarm when she'd finished, but only heard the gentle whooshing of water through pipes in the walls around her. She heaved a sigh; It appeared the coast was clear.

Her efforts were rewarded with a bed, which she collapsed into without another thought. She didn't even manage to get both of her shoes off before she drifted off, more grateful for the mattress than she'd ever been for bedding in her life, even if it did smell a bit like dust.

It was nice, sleeping peacefully and waking up to quiet solitude at last. It took her a moment to recall where she was, but she smiled when she did, opening her eyes slowly as if to bask in the moment.

She was surprised to find that it was still dark. The room was lit dimly with artificial light she didn't recall turning on, but was otherwise shadowy in the obviously late hours of the night. She noticed that the light flickered, and her eyes followed to find it coming from a television. It was struggling to play some program that involved a group of five people.

Before she could discern more about the program, though, her attention was drawn to the figure that must have turned it on.

Max jumped about a foot in the air, scrambling to her feet and making for the window.

"Whoa, there!"

Before she could even get the lock undone, there were arms around her waist, hauling her away from the window with a grunt of effort.

"Calm down, I'm not gonna jump you or anything, chill!" The voice panted, struggling to keep a hold on Max who was doing her best to be hard to hold onto. It was a girl. Well, at least it wasn't Jefferson.

"I'm not gonna bust you either! So just stop freaking out, alright? I'll put you down!" She bargained. Max found this a favorable alternative to their current position, so she cautiously complied. A few seconds after her limbs stilled, she was returned to the ground and released.

She spun to look at her assailant. It took her a moment to do anything more than stare though, because wowser her hair was exactly the colors of the sky the day she'd escaped. It made her heart race just like that first glimpse of sky had, and she let out a little sigh.

"I don't know how the hell you got in, I totally locked that window behind me." The girl offered. It took Max a moment to catch up, and she frowned.

"You snuck in too?" She wondered.

"Yeah, probably not long before you. I hopped in the shower and then found you in the bed. You didn't really have anything with you, though, so I figured you probably didn't exactly 'check in.' That, and you're kinda rank." She explained. Max's frown deepened.

"I'm… What?" She wondered. The girl laughed.

"Rank. It means you smell, dude. Where are you from?"

Max thought that was kind of a rude thing to say, but the girl was still smiling. So maybe it was okay? She didn't seem like she was trying to be mean. Maybe she was just blunt.

She needed to answer.

"U-Uh, Oregon."

She wasn't a very good liar. It would probably be best to avoid talking about where she'd come from. She considered going back and providing a different answer, but decided the girl probably didn't mean her any harm. After all, she was in a similar situation. If anyone understood, it was her.

"Really? Small world. Me too; Arcadia Bay. Not as cool as the tourist hype would make you think." She offered. Max didn't know what Arcadia Bay was, but she smiled anyway. It sounded kind of like it was supposed to be a joke. "Anyway, I don't mind sharing the room, if you don't mind sharing the bed. You gotta shower first though, seriously." The girl warned.

"We're probably better off together, anyway. If it gets tight, two heads are better than one, right?" She suggested. Max smiled again, and that seemed to be answer enough. "Cool. My name's Chloe."

Max took her hand, shaking it as she'd seen doctors and scientists do when they met.

"Max."

Chloe then shooed her into the bathroom, heading back towards the chair she'd been sitting in, presumably to continue watching TV. Max closed herself in the bathroom, stripping out of the clothes she'd been wearing for days on end. They looked ragged, and she dreaded to put them on again after she'd showered, but she hadn't exactly packed a spare set of clothes.

For the time being, she forgot about the clothes, excited at the prospect of a proper scrub down. Bathroom sinks weren't exactly the best bathtubs, and she swore she could feel the grime melting off her body in the wake of the hot water. It was heavenly.

She continued ignoring her clothes, leaving them in the bathroom as she returned to the main room. Chloe had migrated to the bed, where she sat propped up against the wall, finger swiping across the screen of a cellphone. The girl looked up when Max came in, and she grinned wryly when she saw Max in the doorway of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel.

"I figured you didn't have a change of clothes, since your bag is tiny. I've worn them once, but these are probably better than whatever you had going on before." She said, gesturing to a pile of clothing at the foot of the bed.

Max took it gratefully, retreating back into the bathroom to put them on. The pants were a little too long for her legs and tight around her hips, but otherwise it wasn't too terrible a hand to be dealt. And they did smell significantly better. As long as she left the button undone, it'd do. She gathered up her own rejected clothes and shoved them into her bag before heading back for the main room.

"Hey, not bad. Roll up the cuffs, though, or you're gonna trip. You're pretty quiet." Chloe observed. Max dutifully bent over to roll up the cuffs of the jeans, as instructed. "I can dig it, I guess. Got any food on you?"

Max pursed her lips, shaking her head.

"Yeah, it looks like you haven't eaten in a week. I don't have much, but we can split it. But you gotta help me find food tomorrow, deal?"

Max wasn't about to say no to a meal. And if Chloe had a clue how to get around, Max would be happy to follow her lead. At this point, she would take whatever help she could get.

Somehow, inexplicably, she felt she could trust Chloe. Maybe it was the color of her hair. Maybe it was her similar situation. Maybe it was the way that she talked. It didn't really matter. Max needed someone to trust. She'd just have to hope Chloe would be the right person to choose.

For now, she joined the other girl on the bed; tentatively, for she wasn't entirely sure how the bed sharing etiquette worked. Chloe didn't react when she sat down, though, so she assumed it was safe to heave herself up to mimic the other's posture.

Chloe reached down over the edge of the bed and retrieved a bag from the floor. From this she withdrew a few packaged food items, which she laid out between them on the bed.

"Have whatever you like dude; I don't really have a preference. Oh, and there's a cup by the sink if you want some water. I used it, but I don't have cooties."

Max didn't really have a preference either, but she picked a couple of the snacks and drew them over to her side.

"Take another one, I ate some while you were sleeping." Chloe insisted, pushing one more over to Max's pile.

They ate in companionable silence, the television still on but very low, likely to keep anyone from noticing that they were occupying the supposedly empty room.

"So, you on the run from something, or are on the run towards something?" Chloe asked, sucking on her fingertips to rid them of the dust from a bag of chips. Max copied, finding that she enjoyed the bizzare, salty flavor.

"From something, I guess. I don't really know, I just need to get somewhere that isn't where I was. That counts as from. But I'm going to the other place? Both? What about you?"

Chloe seemed surprised, but she smiled.

"You can speak! I'm not running, though. I'm looking for someone. A really good friend of mine." She replied, digging into the bag again and pulling out a folded up piece of paper. She unfolded it, smoothing out some creases, then handed it to Max.

She looked it over, finding that it was a photograph. Chloe was in it, maybe a year or two younger, smiling with another girl. She had long hair and knew her way around makeup much better than Chloe did. She was the sort of person Max expected to see in advertisements, not making a funny face into the camera with someone like Chloe. But Max had to admit, Chloe's honesty; The way her nose crinkled as she smiled making it obvious she was laughing, the way her eyes shone, it made her prettier, in Max's opinion.

"Her name is Rachel. Rachel Amber. No one's seen her in months, and I got tired of waiting around twiddling my thumbs. You haven't met her, by chance?"

Max shook her head, handing the picture back. Chloe took it, looking at it wistfully for a moment before returning it to her bag.

"Yeah, I didn't figure. Doesn't hurt to ask though. The only tip off I got was from a guy in a bar a few streets over. I dunno how much I trust his memory…" She mumbled, shrugging. "Anyway, I'm gonna try to pass out. Who knows when they'll figure out we're in here, so you better sleep while you can too." She suggested, sweeping the wrappers from their snackage into her bag before pulling the blankets over her legs and wriggling down till her head was on one of the pillows.

Max stayed up until she was sure Chloe was asleep. She didn't really like to think someone was watching her sleep, even though she'd dealt with that most of her life. Before getting comfortable she got up and fiddled with the television till it shut off. Then she copied Chloe, getting into bed on the other side and pressing as close to the edge as she could.

She would just have to hope that she wouldn't scream and wake Chloe in the night. But then, maybe the other girl would understand. She seemed to take pretty much everything in stride with relatively good graces. She didn't probe when Max hesitated to provide information. Max was willing to bet that she was hoping to be shown the same courtesy.

She could do that.

Chloe made a little snoring sound, and it reminded Max that she ought to be sleeping instead of overthinking things. She rolled over, staring at the back of the other girl's head. She found the color of her hair comforting, and let herself swim in the blues and purples and peaches of her first sky, drifting off without realizing.

-.-.-+-.-.-

Someday she might get used to rude awakenings. It wasn't that day, though. Max jumped high in the air as the door was pushed open, revealing a surprised, and then less than pleased woman that more than likely owned the motel. Chloe woke as the woman began shouting, and cursed quietly as she realized what was happening.

Max couldn't really understand what the woman was saying, she was talking too quickly and too loudly. But she definitely heard the word 'police' and that was enough to have her raising her hand to command time to retreat. Chloe returned to sleep, the woman stormed backwards out of the door and down the hallway. Max persisted, though, for quite a while after the woman had retreated.

As the flow of time righted itself, Max reached out and nudged Chloe. It took a few tries, but she was alert almost as soon as she opened her eyes. It was a contrast to Max herself, who was naturally groggy when she woke. The scientists had trained her to react, though, and she could get moving when she had to.

Now was one of those times. She warned Chloe that the owner was going to check the room, and the girl didn't question it for a second, getting up and carefully cleaning up any trace that they'd been there. She moved quickly, as if she'd done this before. She probably had, actually.

Once she'd given the okay on the state of the room, she opened the window and easily swung her leg over and out, sliding onto the grass with ease. Max followed suit, stumbling as her foot caught on the window sill. Chloe easily steadied her, though, and then led her to the abandoned truck that she'd found the day before. Well, apparently _not_ abandoned. Max chose to keep it to herself that she'd considered breaking into it. Maybe later.

Chloe pulled a few risky maneuvers, but got them to the road in a matter of seconds. As they drove past, Max noticed the woman had just gotten to the door of the room they'd been in. She pushed it open, looking inside. But it seemed that she hadn't been suspicious from the get-go, for she continued on to other rooms when she found it was empty.

The other girl noticed too, and she whistled.

"That was close. Nice call, Max." She praised. Max smiled, but it fell as she continued. "How'd you know she was coming?"

Max faltered, not sure what she could say. She really shouldn't have known that the owner was coming, unless she'd seen her on her way. But she'd still been in bed. There was no way-

"I heard her opening the doors across from us, and guessed." She lied. Chloe didn't look as if she was questioning it, so she breathed a bit easier. "Sorry for making it sound like I was sure. I just… I didn't want to risk it."

"Better safe than sorry." Chloe agreed, grinning. She sat back a bit from where she'd been leaning into the steering wheel, probably from excitement. "Well, that's one way to start the day. Now how about we find something to munch?"

Max nodded, letting a hand rest on her stomach so she could feel the growls.

"I have to pee, too." She added, suddenly aware of the fact now that the danger had passed. Chloe laughed.

"Fuck, me too." She cursed, as if she'd only just realized as well. It made Max smile, despite herself. "Alright, well, I've got a little cash left, so I guess we could blow it on one last meal. I just filled up on gas yesterday, so it'll be alright."

Though she said this out loud, it seemed more like she was talking to herself than to Max. But that didn't mean that Max could just be a bystander to the conversation.

"I, um, I don't have any money." She admitted woefully. Chloe gave her a look.

"Yeah, I figured. My treat, dude. That lady might've called the cops, which would've been hell. So I wanna thank you for the trouble." She reasoned. Max didn't know how she felt about Chloe using what apparently little money she had on her, but it seemed the girl was resolute in her decision.

"…You shared your food last night. You don't owe me anything." Max pointed out. It was promptly waved away. The rest of the drive was quiet except for the rumbling of the truck's engine, until they pulled up to a building and Chloe parked.

The girl led the way inside confidently. Max noted that it was busy; busier than any of the other buildings nearby. She assumed the big yellow M that was displayed so frequently it was almost annoying was meant to indicate the function of the building. But as they got closer to the door, that became clear anyway. If there was one thing Max knew, it was the smell of food.

Inside was bustling with people and activity. People sitting at tables eating food, some at a counter talking to people that must be employees, others bustling around with trays of food, or rags to clean tables. Behind the counter, though she couldn't see far, seemed to be full of people too.

It was a little overwhelming. She fought the instinct to grab onto Chloe in some way, even if just the hem of her shirt. Jefferson had always snapped at her for clinging to people when she was nervous. Instead, she kept her eyes focused on the girl's back, following her closely so as not to get separated.

They walked up to the counter, waiting behind a few people as they finished their conversations with the employees. Chloe looked up at a board that displayed pictures of food that had Max's mouth watering. Compared to what she'd been given at the bunker, namely military rations, and then the packaged food she'd taken from the gas station and Chloe's bag, it looked as if it'd been delivered from the heavens themselves.

"Know what you want? I think we're early enough for the breakfast menu, if you want."

She turned to Chloe, having practically forgotten the girl was there. Her mouth open and closed a few times, and she turned back to the board, realizing now what it was for. But there were too many choices. She was expected to not only read the entire thing, but decide on something?

"Whoa, you look like I just asked you to decide the fate of the world!" Chloe laughed, patting her back a little roughly. "It's just McDonalds, dude. Are you always like this when you order food?"

Max opted not to mention that she'd never done it before, making a noncommittal noise in response. Chloe shook her head, letting out a little chuckle as Max returned to scanning over the menu. She wasn't even sure what most of the words meant. What on earth was a McDouble? What was being doubled? The Mc?

When it seemed clear that Max wouldn't manage a choice any time soon, Chloe shooed her towards the bathrooms.

"I'll just order for both of us. Go pee."

Grateful for the way out, Max nodded and went in the direction Chloe had pointed out to her until she saw the signs for the restrooms. The other girl joined her while she was cleaning up her face in the sink, winking as she passed.

"You can pick a table, if you're finished." She called over the wall of one of the stalls. "We're 183, if they call it before I'm done."

Max didn't know what that meant, but committed the number to memory just in case. She did as Chloe said, finding an empty table and claiming it. Then she set to people-watching. It was her best means of learning how to behave properly in the real world, after all. She quickly learned what her companion had been talking about, with the numbers. As they were called out, people returned to the counter to retrieve their food.

So when she heard 183, Max dutifully got up and picked up the tray, nervously nodding at the employee that thanked her as she did. Her escape to the table was hasty. Once safe, she got to work looking over the tray with intrigue. There was a lot on it, and her stomach screeched at her for her continued negligence. But she persevered until Chloe emerged from the bathroom and took the seat across from her.

"Thanks for waiting." She said, one of her feet nudging into Max's under the table. Then she grabbed one of the wrapped lumps, unwrapping the paper to reveal… Something. Max wasn't sure. It sort of looked like a sandwich, but not exactly.

"Uh, dig in dude. Don't just watch me eat."

Assuming that was the 'go ahead,' she picked one of the lumps at random. The contents were similar to what Chloe was currently working her way through. Bread, some sort of meat, cheese, and some vegetables. It smelled good. She poked her tongue out to test it.

"Max, it's a burger. You act like you've never had McDonalds." Chloe said. It sounded like she was considering laughing, as if it was a joke. "If you're a picky eater, you should have ordered for yourself."

"I-I'm not." Max promised, quickly taking a bite to appease the other girl. She got distracted, though, after that, with shoveling food into her mouth. Chloe didn't say anything for a while, eating at a much calmer pace and glancing Max's direction every once in a while.

"…I'm really starting to think you've never had a double cheeseburger." She cautioned after Max had finished her second one. "Have some fries." She suggested, scooting a box of strange little sticks her way. Max was done questioning the food though, and didn't hesitate to put one in her mouth.

By the end of it, the table was littered with wrappers and Max found her tummy to be more satisfied than she remembered it ever being.

"I love McDonalds." She announced, dutifully licking salt from her fingers. She couldn't remember food ever tasting better. Chloe laughed, the sound getting caught in her nose and causing her to snort. Max liked the sound of it. She wished she knew how to laugh that hard.

"You're weird. Now that you've finished shoveling, want a drink?" She asked, offering a cup with a lid and straw. Max took it, sipping at the liquid. She didn't get much before pulling a face, though, looking at the cup accusingly. The drink was very sweet, but also fizzy on her tongue, like aspirin water.

"Jeez, not a Dr. Pepper fan?" Chloe wondered. Max didn't reply, just gave the drink another tentative taste. More prepared for the fizz, she chanced a bigger mouthful. And it was actually pretty tasty, once she got past the bubbly sensation. When she looked up, Chloe had a brow quirked. "Alright, never mind then." She dismissed.

Max returned the cup sheepishly, but the other girl just set it on the table between them.

"Now that we're fed, I guess we should figure out where we're going from here." Chloe eventually suggested. Max gave her full attention, but kept silent for the time being. It didn't seem the other girl knew what to say either, though, for they just wound up sitting in silence for an awkward while.

It was broken by an exaggerated sigh from Chloe.

"Okay, so, look. Like I said, I got a tip yesterday that Rachel was headed for New York. It's the only break I've found since I left Arcadia Bay, no matter how shitty the source is. So I'm heading that way. I don't know where you're heading, but if you're going East-" She trailed. Max wasn't sure what Chloe was getting at, though, so she wasn't sure what to say.

"…You know. You're welcome to, uh, tag along." She finished, looking kind of unsatisfied with how it'd come out. Max stared at her.

"You mean… I can come with you?" She clarified, cautious of being presumptuous. Chloe touched the back of her neck, a gesture Max could read as awkwardness. But she nodded, anyway.

"Yeah. It's been kinda… Lonely, traveling on my own." She admitted, bashful. Max could tell that lonely probably wasn't the word Chloe initially thought of. If her experience on her own was at all similar to Max's, then she was probably using it as a euphemism for words like terrifying, exhausting, and impossible.

Max considered the offer. The part of her that the scientists had trained told her it was too risky. She didn't know much about the girl; Only what she'd been told by Chloe herself. Assuming that she could trust the information, it wasn't much to start with. For all she knew, Chloe could be a government agent in disguise, coaxing her into a trap.

But another part of her, one that had somehow avoided erasure over the years of being nothing but an experiment, had her heart thumping every time the girl talked. For some reason, inexplicable even to Max herself, the thought of never seeing Chloe again frightened her.

The girl made her feel hopeful, or maybe just brave. She felt like, together, they could maybe actually make it. Compared to how she'd begun the journey, afraid and desperate, it was a nice change. And it was nice having someone to look after her. Plus Chloe knew how to navigate the civilized world, a skill set that Max was astutely aware of lacking.

"Alright." She eventually agreed, replacing the look of worry on Chloe's face with a bright smile.

"Yeah?" Chloe prompted, and Max found a smile to give her in return.

"Yeah. Thank you." She added.

"Fuck yeah." Chloe replied, pushing her over a bit in the chair. She was giggling a little, though, so Max gathered that it was a friendly gesture. "Let's blow this joint, then." She continued, standing up and scooping all of the wrappers onto the tray, which she carted over to a box-shaped trashcan and discarded. After stopping off and filling the cup with an alarmingly brown liquid, she returned to Max's side and lead the way back out to the truck.

"Shit, this is gonna be like a road trip now." She mumbled lowly, probably to herself, as she got in. Max wasn't sure what that meant, since they'd already been traveling on the road, but it made Chloe smile, so she supposed it didn't matter.

The girl fiddled with some of the knobs and buttons before her, causing some sort of terrible music to start playing inside the cab of the truck, then she started it up and pulled back onto the road. With a bit of team navigation, they managed to find the eastbound highway. Once they'd settled into a lane, Chloe gave her another of those soft shoves.

"New York, here we come!" She announced brightly, her smile so big that it was contagious. Not even sure why she was excited, Max nodded.

"Here we come."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't normally update this rapidly, but I felt the first chapter was too "exposition" to serve as a point to judge the story. Hopefully this chapter will get a bit more interest.
> 
> But, honestly, I was surprised by the reaction I got. My first chapters are usually silently received; I'll get some followers, but that's about it. But I got quite a few comments already. Thanks to everyone who spared me some time, I seriously appreciate it. You'll come to learn that I love talking with readers, and I tend to respond to a huge percentage of my comments. Feel free to ask questions, and know that I'll probably respond.
> 
> I wonder if Chloe seems too okay with the Max situation? I'm trying to get across that she's got a very 'stay out of my business, I'll stay out of yours' kind of attitude, at least for right now. I'm also trying to keep this story kind of fast paced, as I have a nasty habit of drawing things out till they're boring that I need to work on. Let me know if it ever starts feeling rushed, or very slow. It can be hard for me to gauge.
> 
> Alright, well, thanks to anyone who stopped by for round two, and I hope I can look forward to some more comments soon! Till next time!
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや
> 
> 4/22: Same as chapter one, this has been updated with a slightly edited version. Again, the editing was minor and you won't miss out if you don't reread. I just believe it's important to constantly improve.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay," Chloe began, running her fingers through her bangs. "I can't survive another day of dumpster dinner." She admitted solemnly as they pulled up to a red light. Max grimaced.

It'd been only two days since they'd left L.A., and already the food situation was dire. All they'd had to eat was what they could salvage from behind restaurants, and one takeout box of leftover pasta that Chloe managed to sweet-talk off of someone coming out of an Italian restaurant they were looting.

For Max, it had been some of the best tasting food she'd ever eaten. But she understood the hesitation; They were taking food out of the literal trash. Compared to her old diet of military food rations, it was heaven. But for Chloe, who definitely knew better, it was the worst possible option, starving aside.

The food situation was only one of their problems. They were both in need of a good shower, and a bed wouldn't hurt. Sleeping in the truck together, while possible, had proven to be less than ideal. Even so, Chloe didn't seem to regret asking Max to come along. Max wasn't sure why she hadn't been tossed out of the window for her uselessness, but she wasn't about to complain either.

"But I don't know how we're going to get money." She admitted sheepishly when Max didn't reply.

Max frowned, pursing her lips. It had become obvious that Chloe had just as little clue as her how to get money without a job. She had been hoping that the girl would be something of a guide through the real world, but she was quickly proving that she was mostly just another scared girl on her own for the first time.

That was alright, though. At least they were together.

"We'll figure it out." Max assured, turning from the window to give her companion an encouraging smile. It seemed to soothe Chloe's irritation, at least, for her expression softened, and she sighed.

"I know. I guess I'm just realizing that I'm not as much of an adult as I thought I was." She mumbled. Max nodded, patting her shoulder. It was a gesture she'd picked up from Chloe, among many others. Compared to the scientists that had surrounded her all her life, Chloe was a very physical person. Max was still testing the waters, honestly. She'd definitely initiated contact at inappropriate times, and had missed a few obvious signals for things like hugs and 'fist-bumps,' both of which Chloe was fond of.

"I guess... I can try my card again. Who knows? Maybe mom put some money in my account yesterday or something." She suggested hopefully. Max nodded encouragingly, though she didn't really understand the point of shoving a little plastic card into a slot. Was money really meant to come out? It had never worked for Chloe.

Chloe explained the process, though, and Max had something of an idea. But in order to execute it, they'd have to be able to withdraw money, which hadn't worked yet. It also involved her power, which she still had yet to talk to Chloe about.

She'd considered never telling Chloe at all. But after only two days of traveling together, she'd grown to care more about Chloe than probably anyone else. It wasn't saying too much, considering her parents were dead and everyone else she knew wanted _her_ dead. Chloe was the only friend she had. And she wanted to be honest with the only person she had.

But there had yet to be a good opportunity to bring it up. Would there ever be? It was doubtful that 'I have superhuman powers' came up in casual conversation very often. Still, the urge to tell her grew with each day. If Chloe knew about her ability, it might make their lives a little… Easier.

"Um, Chloe." She prompted before she could think twice. Her throat seized up with nerves, though. She should have thought it through more before she started. It was too late, though, she had the girl's attention.

Where should she start? How was she going to prove it? What would Chloe do?

"I, uh, I think I should tell you… Something." She stalled. Chloe was obviously a little concerned, torn between looking at the road and at Max.

"Okay, dude. You're acting like you're about to tell me you have a terminal illness or something." She forced a laugh, trying desperately to lighten the mood without really knowing if it was appropriate to do so yet.

"Sorry, no, I just don't really know where to start. I don't know if you'll believe what I want to tell you, but… I want to tell you anyway. So, um… I can rewind time." She blurted. Better to just do it fast and get it over with.

Maybe it wasn't the best idea, though, for Chloe hadn't even managed to react yet. She just continued driving as if Max was simply taking a pause and was about to keep talking. Then her brows screwed up, and she spared a glance over to the passenger side of the cab.

When it didn't appear that Max would admit to kidding, she turned back to the road, still silent. Her lips pursed. Max nibbled on her bottom one, stealing looks on occasion to see if Chloe had made any progress on processing things.

"T-That's why I knew the owner of the motel was coming. That's how I got into the room, too. The window _was_ locked. And it's why I need to put as much distance between me and where I came as possible." She continued, as if it might help her case at all.

Chloe only looked more confused and a little concerned, as if she was wondering whether or not she ought to stop and maybe ditch the crazy girl on the side of the road.

"I-I know how it sounds, but I'll prove it, if you'll let me." She offered. That seemed to pique the other girl's interest at last. "Next time we stop, though. I don't want to distract you."

Of course, it didn't take long for Chloe to stop after that, pulling into the first gas station they saw. She parked the truck as far out of sight as she could, then turned to Max with a quirked brow.

"Alright, Max. I don't really know what to think, to be honest with you. But… Impress me, I guess." She urged.

This, Max knew how to do, actually. The exercise was practiced and familiar, and required little effort on her part.

"First, I need you to show me what's in your pockets. Everything." She instructed. Chloe complied, half-standing awkwardly to dig all the way to the bottom, even in the cramped space. She laid it all out between them, mumbling about 20 cents she'd forgotten about having, and Max began studying the objects, memorizing details quickly.

"So, uh, not to be a downer, but you jacking my shit isn't exactly mind blowing."

Max found it in her to roll her eyes, holding up her hand before Chloe could say anything else and watching the girl work in reverse to put her things back in her pockets.

"-ess me, I guess."

Nice timing.

"I'm going to tell you what you have in your pockets." Max promised. Chloe blinked, but nodded her on, eyes a bit wide with interest.

"You've got a pack of cigarettes in the back pocket. Seven left, but one is kind of funny looking, like you made it yourself." She described. Chloe's eyes got wider. "And your lighter is in there. It's got a blue butterfly on it."

"…Okay, well, I mean-" Chloe began, but Max continued, cutting her off.

"There are two dimes in the tiny pocket."

"No there's-"

"Yes, there are. And a receipt from a bar in L.A. You had a shot of vodka and two beers."

Chloe didn't say anything, opting instead to empty her pockets. When she found the dimes, tucked snugly in the watch pocket of her jeans, her brows knit and she glanced up at Max, almost appearing nervous.

"W-wow, amazeballs. I don't even remember when I put the change in there. What the fuck." She murmured, sitting stunned for a while. Then she pursed her lips. "But… And I'm not saying you would, but you could've found all that out by snooping through my stuff."

Max had failed to consider that, but it was fair. She could have just as easily checked Chloe's pockets while she was sleeping, or watched her put the things there, even. She couldn't be mad at Chloe for bein thorough; She'd just claimed she could alter time-space.

"You're right. Um… Let me think." She requested. What could she do that would prove it? What information could she obtain only by going back in time? It struck her suddenly, along with a small self-satisfied grin.

"I'm going to predict the future." She announced. Again, Chloe's interest spiked. Her lips curled a bit with excitement she seemed to be having a hard time controlling. It had been so long since someone had been _impressed_ by her ability, rather than annoyed. It was refreshing.

She ignored Chloe as the girl impatiently commented on Max's silence, observing the surroundings and picking out events that stood out enough that she could point them out when she went back. After she'd amassed a few, she halted Chloe yet again and rewound until the girl was looking at her expectantly.

After dealing with a little recoil from the double use of her power, she began to list off what would happen. They watched as a guy dropped the coffee he'd just bought, the cup bursting and the drink exploding across the pavement. Then a red truck pulled up, a man getting out and setting up the pump only to trip over the hose. A woman came out with a bag full of only blue Gatorade and a bottle of whiskey tucked under her arm. All like Max had predicted.

Chloe had adopted that kind of excited, kind of scared look again. She talked past it, though.

"Okay, yeah. I believe you. Holy shit. You really can rewind time. Is this even real? I must be tripping some crazy shit or something." She babbled. Max patted her arm, then thought better on it and withdrew; Chloe was probably a little freaked out by her after hearing about her power. She probably didn't want the contact.

"It's real. Still not sure how or why, but it's real. I've been like this at least since I was eight. Maybe before that, without knowing. But I've..." Max trailed, suddenly hesitant to share her story. It wasn't a pleasant one, and did she really want to burden Chloe like that? But then, wasn't the point to be honest? She sighed.

"I've lived under military supervision ever since then. It started out as a psyche ward, then a really high security hospital, and then it was a military base, and I was staying in a bunker up until I escaped a few days ago. They've been studying me, and training me. There were some others. I escaped with a boy who could do… I don't know. It was horrible though. We separated in the town that we first ran to. I don't know what happened to him. I got on a bus and wound up in L.A." She shared, catching Chloe up on her life story.

The girl looked to be at a loss for words. It was probably too bizarre for her to comprehend. Max's life was the stuff of fiction, she'd come to learn that. It was her reality, but to Chloe, such a world couldn't possibly exist. But Max was proof that it did, and it was sinking in. She took a shaky breath.

"Shit. I'm sorry, Max. I… I don't really know what to say." She admitted, expression torn between distress and sheepishness.

"That's okay, you don't have to say anything. I just… I wanted to tell you. It wouldn't be fair of me to keep it from you if we're going to spend a lot of time together." She explained. "And… I want you to understand what I'm dealing with. I know that it's a little late now, but I'm sure that they are looking for me. I don't know if you'd be in danger, but… I definitely can't promise that you're safe if you let me stay with you."

She had to offer Chloe this opportunity, this out. She couldn't let the girl put herself in potential danger for her without even knowing. It was Chloe's decision to make. And Max couldn't begrudge her for it, even if she did wind up shoved out onto the pavement face-first.

"Christ!" Chloe scoffed, as if it was really very funny. " _Let_ you stay? Max, we're in this together now. You couldn't leave me if you wanted to." She laughed, finally looking like herself again, her teeth showing as she found her smile again. "But wow, talk about a game changer!"

Well, that was about as good a reaction as she could hope for.

"Yes. And objects that I'm holding remain with me, even if I rewind." She added, as if to offer further reasons for Chloe to side with her, to stay with her. Surely it couldn't be that easy.

Chloe considered this new information for several minutes, her expression changing many times as she imagined the possibilities. She seemed to arrive at the same conclusion that Max had, though, for she scrambled for her bag, digging around for a battered wallet.

"Shit, do you think, if we could get some money, if you rewound while holding it-"

"Yeah." Max nodded, confirming that they were on the same page. Chloe looked like she'd been given a particularly well-wrapped gift.

"Fuck. Come on, mom. Anything. Even just fifty bucks." Chloe chanted lowly as she started the truck back up and peeled back onto the highway, frantically searching for any sign of an ATM. Max truly hoped that it would work this time. If it went as she planned, they wouldn't have to worry about money anymore, which meant they wouldn't have to worry about food anymore either. Or Gas. Or a place to stay. It would solve a lot of their problems, instantly.

They finally found one, inside another one of thousands of unremarkable truck stops. Someone was already using it, and Chloe's impatience showed in the rapid tapping of her boot against the tiled floor. But her annoyance melted as soon as they approached the machine, replaced instead with cautious hope.

She inserted the card and held her breath as she navigated the menus to get a balance inquiry. She stared at the screen a long time when it finally popped up, and she was so quiet that it was clear what had happened. Max sighed in disappointment, looking to see what sort of food the attached diner offered, since they'd likely be having the scraps for lunch.

"Max, there's a hundred dollars." Chloe whispered, as if she were afraid saying it too loud would scare the money away. Max spent a moment being unsure what she'd heard, then a flurry of excitement bubbled in her stomach. She watched as Chloe pressed a few more buttons, causing the machine to whir, then spit out a small stack of rectangular green papers. Chloe held them with a reverence that suggested she'd not seen a more beautiful sight in quite some time.

She then turned to Max, and handed them over, holding onto Max's hand for a moment and looking her in the eye. Was it encouragement? Max accepted it, whatever it was, tucking the money into her pocket, then began the reversal, checking her pocket as Chloe handed her the money again. The lump in her pocket doubled exactly, and then tripled, quadrupled. Her nose started bleeding as Chloe stared at the balance in disbelief for the sixth time.

"Max, there's a hundred-Shit! Are you okay?" She diverted, noticing the blood. "Hey, look, it worked! My mom must have been worried. A hundred isn't a lot, but we could get some food at least. You look like you need some nutrients..." She rambled, obviously nervous in the face of Max's ailment. It was apparent she wasn't sure how to comfort people, but that was sort of endearing. It had Max smiling, at least.

"I'm okay. It just happens when I use my rewind too much." She explained, speaking slowly as she recovered.

"Wait, when did you… Hold on, did you already-"

Max tried out one of those smug grins for herself, pulling the folded bills from her pocket.

"I think that makes five hundred." She shared, handing them over. Chloe flipped through, eyes wide. Even after she finished, she did it again a couple more times, as if she couldn't believe it. Then she giggled.

"Fuck yeah! Wait, make that six hundred, I can-"

"No, leave it. That way we can do this again if we run out." Max suggested. Chloe gave her an impressed look that made her glow a little with pride, tucking the money into her wallet.

"Good call, Super Max. Shit, let's get something to eat!" She urged excitedly, grabbing Max's wrist and leading her towards the diner. She seemed to think better on it halfway there, though, and steered her instead to the bathroom.

"Here, uh, lean over the sink." She urged, and Max complied.

"It's not bleeding anymore." She promised, taking the tissue that Chloe had retrieved from one of the stalls. She dabbed at what was still wet, then wetted a paper towel and cleaned up what had already begun to dry. "Sorry if I scared you." She offered when she finished.

"I mean, I don't know if you should be as chill about it as you are. If you get nosebleeds when you use your rewind thing, it probably means it's hard on your body, right?" She guessed. Max looked up, catching her eye. Chloe continued to prove that she was very clever. She'd caught on to Max's plan with the ATM within minutes of learning about Max's power. And-

"Yeah. It strains my body. But there's no brain damage or anything unless I push it way, way further. And the more that I practice it, the further back I can go without reacting. But I don't really like to practice." She admitted, frowning. It was painful, and truth be told, she didn't really like using her power much.

Something about it seemed very wrong. Even as sheltered from the world as she'd been, she could tell in the way the scientists spoke to and about her that her ability was morally questionable. After all, what right had she to cheat the very flow of fate itself?

"…Then we'll try to avoid relying on it. Only when we have to." Chloe decided. Max just nodded. She knew that they'd wind up abusing it, just by the nature of their situation. But she appreciated that Chloe cared. She found the girl smiling at her, and, blinking, smiled back.

"Ready to eat, Maxo? You earned it."

"I am hungry. But, um, my name is Max." She reminded softly. It was kind of surprising to think that Chloe had forgotten, especially since they'd been together for a few days, and she'd been using her name without a problem up till then. I was maybe a little hurtful.

"Uh, yeah, I know. It's a nickname. Oh… Uh, maybe you don't really know about those. I guess they weren't… Friendly to you. The military guys?" Chloe wondered.

"No, not generally. I know what a nickname is, though. But I've never had one, sorry. I didn't know." She admitted. It was sort of relieving that Chloe knew. It made it a lot easier to explain why she fumbled so much in the social aspect of their new… Partnership.

"…Max isn't short for something?" The taller girl wondered.

"Oh, uh, yeah. It is. For Maxine. I guess it sort of is a nickname. But I _never_ go by Maxine. I sort of forget it's my name sometimes." She admitted. That seemed to amuse her companion, which was better than freaking her out.

Chloe sat down in a booth, and Max slid in across from her. The taller girl picked up a very thin book that was on the table, and Max found her brows knitting.

"Chloe?" She mumbled, a bit hesitant to say anything. She didn't like to cause trouble. But she was really hungry. "Aren't we going to get food?" She asked.

The other girl stared at her blankly for a while, then realization seemed to dawn on her.

"Oh, sorry. This is a different kind of restaurant. McDonalds is fast food, which means it doesn't cost a lot of money, but is also not very good quality food." She explained. Max had half a mind to disagree, but decided not to interrupt.

"This place isn't fancy or anything, but it's a diner, which is a bit nicer than fast food. So you sit down, and someone will come out to you and ask what you want. The menu is in here." She said, pointing to the thin book she'd been perusing before.

"When they come over, they're going to ask you what you want to drink, so decide that first. Your choices are on the usually on the back." She continued, flipping the menu over for her and pointing where she should be looking. "Do you know what these drinks are?"

"I know what water is." She offered lamely. Chloe smirked.

"I see the military didn't shelter the humor out of you, at least. These ones are all sodas, so they're fizzy. Dr. Pepper is what we had at McDonalds. Mountain Dew is citrusy, I guess. I'm not a fan, but to each their own. Sprite's the better option if you want citrus, though. It's probably the least… Dramatic. If the Dr. Pepper was too much, Sprite might be more up your alley."

At that point, a teenage boy with a tired expression and ragged apron on came and asked what they'd like to drink. Chloe ordered Dr. Pepper again, and Max decided to trust her suggestion and ordered the Sprite. The boy retreated, leaving them alone again.

"Alright, now you need to pick something to eat. You're supposed to try and figure it out before he comes back with the drinks."

Max's eyes widened, then dropped frantically to the menu. How could she decide so quickly? There was a whole book of choices!

"Hey, calm down. It'll be okay if you can't decide, we'll just ask him for more time." She promised. That helped Max to calm down just a bit, but her eyes still moved too quickly to even comprehend what was written.

When the boy returned with their drinks, Max had barely managed to get through a single page, and she looked at him with a fear so obvious that he didn't even ask if they needed more time, setting their drinks on the table and retreating into the back.

Chloe quirked a brow, leaning her elbow on the table.

"I'm getting a bacon omelet. Diners are best judged by their breakfast food." She explained, flipping a few pages and pointing. "Or you can get a burger. What kind of food do you like?"

Max gave her another blank look, and then looked down at the menu again. After a moment;

"I'll get that too." She decided, giving up on trying to pick from limitless dishes she'd never heard of. Chloe nodded, and as if on cue, the waiter returned only a minute or so later to put their order in. Max relaxed once he'd gone, glad that she'd gotten past the stressful part of eating at a restaurant. All that was left was to wait and then enjoy delicious food.

She took a cautious sip of the fizzy drink that was clear as water. She remembered the surprise of the previous soda she'd tried. It hadn't been a horrible experience, just maybe a little overwhelming. This soda, though, had a more agreeable flavor. Not as sickly sweet. Citrusy, as Chloe had said, like lemonade. She'd venture to say that she maybe liked it a bit.

Chloe tapped her foot audibly under the table, and there was a constant jostling of silverware on porcelain, as well as a gentle hum of conversation from the surrounding tables and booths. It left the silence comfortable as the two girls basked in the small moment of stillness, knowing they'd shortly be back on the road.

"Shit-" Chloe sighed, reclining back as far as the booth would allow, letting her hips scoot forward so she could further slouch. "I'm beat, to be real. Forgot how intense road-tripping is." She admitted. After a moment, her eyes went wide and her mouth formed a little circle.

"Dude, whoa, this is your first road trip!" She shared, seemingly horrified by this discovery. "And it's been so shitty so far! God, I've been doing you wrong, Max!"

Max didn't really know why Chloe was so upset, especially since it seemed to be directed at herself for some reason, as if she was to blame for Max's lack of real-world experiences. She didn't feel as though Chloe had been acting maliciously or even negligently.

"I-It's okay." She quickly assured, holding up a placating hand.

"No, road trips are supposed to be awesome!" Chloe insisted, gesturing at her with her soda in hand, nearly sloshing it all over the table several times.

"Who says it hasn't been?" Max asked, throwing the other girl off. "And besides, you're trying to find your friend, and I'm an escaped superhuman on the run from the government." She pointed out, proud to see that she'd made Chloe grin at last.

"Fair. That doesn't mean we can't have fun on the way, though!" She continued, finally taking an actual drink out of the glass instead of gesticulating with it. Max didn't have it in her to argue, and didn't have the facilities to even try when the waiter returned with their plates.

What it was, she wasn't sure, but it smelled amazing. And when Chloe cut into hers and took a bite, strands of cheese oozed and strung between the plate and the fork, making Max's mouth water. She mimicked Chloe's eating procedure, cutting off a piece she could fit in one bite and quickly scooping it into her mouth.

It was hot, and she almost regretted it. Almost. As soon as her tongue had recovered, though, she was singing a different tune.

"Shit." She breathed out dreamily. It made Chloe choke on her food, because she started cracking up halfway through swallowing. Even once she'd managed to get it down she was still booming with boisterous laughter, loud enough that some of the nearby people turned to look at them. Chloe didn't even care though, not paying them any mind.

Max grinned as well, though quickly gave up on that in favor of devouring the omelet. Why she'd decided to murmur the curse, she didn't know, but she _did_ know it would make Chloe laugh. She also just sort of felt like it was the only appropriate response, because, wowser, omelets were probably created by the gods.

Chloe returned to her food when she managed to calm down, sneaking peeks at Max whenever she could catch her eye, pulling a ridiculous face in an attempt to get Max to laugh as well. The other diners likely thought they were obnoxious, but Max hadn't felt so happy in probably as long as she could remember. After coming clean to Chloe about her power and finally having the money to live like real people things felt… Light. As if they didn't have anything to worry about in the world, and were free to just enjoy it.

That wasn't true, of course, but she wasn't going to let it spoil the moment. Good things had happened, and they might as well bask in it while it lasted. And it was nice, once they'd both entirely cleaned their plates, to not worry about scrounging change out of pockets and bags and the nooks of the truck, as they'd gotten used to doing at gas stations. Chloe handed the waiter two of the bills she'd put in her bag, and they were leaving the diner with full bellies moments later.

"God, that was awesome." Chloe concluded as they headed back to the truck. Max nodded her agreement, hopping up into her seat with an ease that was already practiced. Once they were shut in, on the road, and the radio was quietly playing some punk band that Chloe liked, the girl herself turned to Max. Her expression was a bit more serious.

"So, I checked the cash, and the serial numbers are different and everything. So, like, it's not even the same money over and over again." She explained. Max nodded.

"Anything I have with me stays with me. Nothing can exist twice in a reality." She offered, as if it was casual conversation. It only struck her as bizarre when Chloe gave her a look.

"Um, alright, gonna ignore the Dr. Who bullshit. What this means for _us_ is that it's going to be really hard for them to track. There's not even a record of me having a transaction, since you stopped me. There's just going to be five hundred unexplained dollars missing." She reasoned. "Basically, this is the best case scenario. Your superpower is officially the coolest thing ever!"

For the first time, though, Max felt uncertain. Serial numbers? Money could be traced? There were things she hadn't taken into consideration. Had they been careful enough?

"Hey," Chloe prompted, snapping Max to attention, as if sensing the panic stirring. "Worst case scenario, we can jump the border to Canada. We're heading North anyway." She said it like it was a joke, but Max didn't understand what good it would do to go to another country.

"That would… Help?" She asked, brows furrowed.

"Oh, right. I keep forgetting you grew up under a metaphorical rock. Er… Literal rock, maybe… If you go to a different country, the American can't usually chase you. And when they can, it's way, way harder for them. A lot of criminals plan on moving across the border after a crime."

Max didn't like being compared to a criminal, but she supposed she must be. Stealing was a crime, after all, and she'd done it a couple times already. It was frustrating, though, to be called a criminal when her literal survival depended on her ability to provide for herself. She was doing it in the only way she could.

Again, Chloe proved to be more perceptive than anticipated.

"Hey. You don't owe the government shit. They poked you with sticks and locked you up underground for years." She reminded. "If I were you, I'd be doing a lot more than just copying money to eat."

And she had a point, as well as a way of putting Max at ease. So she let herself be comforted, and settled in for the drive, the scenery, the music, and Chloe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Alright, so, I just really wanna say thanks to everyone who's commented and left kudos and followed and favorited and all of that stuff, because wow. I don't know that I've ever gotten this much of a reception with a new story. I really appreciate all of the feedback, especially as I wiggle into a new fandom. (A little late, at that!)
> 
> Again, I worry about things feeling abrupt, but I also can't imagine Max waiting longer than this to tell Chloe. Especially in this particular circumstance, where she has no other person in the entire world that she trusts, I imagine it would be excruciating to keep something from her only friend.
> 
> I think it would also make this story kind of excruciating to read, considering that's a big part of the plot. Like I said, I'm working on speeding up my pacing a bit, because I really do worry about my readers getting bored. If something ever does feel like it's entirely out of left field, though, please tell me.
> 
> Alright, time to get my nosh on. Till the next chapter, guys!
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや
> 
> 4/22: Updated with minor edits.


	4. Chapter 4

Despite having the cash, they decided to sleep in the truck again that night. They'd rolled into Colorado, according to Chloe, and the mountains and stars were a view worth sleeping under, even if it was a little chilly. They'd perfected the technique of laying chest to back on the bench, so they could both stretch out as much as possible instead of sleeping sitting up like they'd done the first time.

It was a little cramped, and sometimes Chloe would accidentally stab Max with one of her many prominent bones, usually her elbows, but all in all it worked out all right. Having one of Chloe's arms around her, while it had kept her up the first time, actually came as a comfort these days. It made her feel safe, silly as that was. And it also helped her protect Chloe; She always woke up as soon as the girl started moving around.

She didn't mention it, but Max had already had nightmares of Jefferson finding her with Chloe, and doing the girl harm. While she had no real part in the research on Max, she was also too close to the situation now. If they thought she knew anything, it was almost definite that she'd conveniently 'disappear.' And she didn't want to ever have to find out if they'd let her go if they thought she was ignorant. It wasn't worth the risk.

The chill rose goosebumps on her arms, but Chloe reacted before Max could even notice the discomfort, reaching for her jacket and pulling it over their torsos. She was careful to make sure that Max was tucked in as best she could be, then she snaked her arm back around the smaller girl's middle, pulling her even closer. Her breath was warm against the back of Max's neck, and the jacket trapped their body heat inside.

Her legs would be a bit stiff in the morning, but she had to admit that it was kind of nice, now that they had a system. The sky was clear, seeing as they'd parked far outside of any cities, and the stars shone like Max had never seen.

In fact, she hadn't. Not that she could remember, anyway.

Chloe fell asleep first, as she always did. And Max laid awake a few hours more, as she always did, just processing everything that had happened, thinking about where she was going, where she'd been, how beautiful the shimmering stars were beyond the windshield, and how soft the skin of Chloe's hand was when she layered her own over it.

Eventually she forced her mind off, focusing on copying the languid breaths that Chloe puffed into her neck until it came naturally and her body followed the slow pace into sleep.

She was a bit surprised to still feel Chloe in position behind her when she woke. Usually the other girl stirred first and then somehow talked Max into sitting up enough to get moving again. Without the constant prodding of the scientists, Max had been giving in to the sleepy haze she used to fight through in the mornings. After discerning that all was still alright in their little world, she'd doze against the thrumming window until Chloe decided it was time to find something to eat.

But the other girl still had an arm draped over her, body heat radiating and leaving Max with a distinct sense of being cozy, despite the cramp she was feeling her whole body over from sleeping in what was essentially a crouch. With a yawn, she carefully rolled onto her back, mindful of the edge of the bench, and then onto her opposite side.

Facing Chloe, she found the girl awake after all, head propped up on a hand that had a cigarette perched between two fingers. The smoke that leaked out had an earthy must about it that alerted Max to the contents. Chloe had explained the difference, at one point, when Max had inquired about the odd looking cigarette that had been put in with the others.

She'd also offered to let Max give it a try, but she'd declined after seeing Chloe take the smoke in the wrong way and cough violently for a solid minute. Still, the girl did seem more relaxed when she smoked the funny smelling ones. She said it was an effect of the drug, that it was really pleasant, but really mild.

After blowing a cloud of smoke towards the ceiling of the truck, she grinned.

"Morning sunshine."

Max smiled sleepily, letting her eyes stay closed much too long when she blinked.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd ever wake up." She said, then rolled her eyes when Max pulled a worried face. "Joking. And it's cool, gave me time to wake and bake." She offered, lifting her blunt as if toasting with it before bringing it to her lips and inhaling till the end retreated in her direction, alight between them and making the skin across their faces glow orange.

Max mumbled unintelligibly, planting her face against Chloe's collar to block out the light, wondering briefly if the other girl would let her go back to sleep. But no such luck; With a laugh and a pat to the back, she guided Max into a sitting position and claimed her spot behind the wheel.

"Fuck. I've gotta teach you how to drive. This shit is wearing my old bones right out." She grumbled, rotating her shoulders, starting the truck and checking on the gas level before maneuvering them back to the main road.

They drove in the normal morning silence; Mostly because Max didn't have the facilities for proper conversation until she'd been up a few hours. But as they passed a sign welcoming them into the first city proper, Chloe seemed unable to contain an excitement that had been visually building in her ever since they'd gotten on the road that morning.

"Dude, we're in Colorado! I'm so fucking stoked. We skipped Vegas, but I'll be damned if we're not stopping somewhere with a dispensary." This all, of course, went right over Max's head. Chloe realized her mistake quickly.

"Uh, so, you remember how I said weed's illegal? Well, it's not in Colorado. You can buy it in special little stores. And like, good stuff. Better than what I can get at home." She explained. Max didn't miss the way that she seemed to almost bounce in her seat with the excitement, and it brought another smile to her lips, despite the morning fog she was still dealing with.

She didn't reply for much too long, but she used the time to contemplate her response carefully.

"Well, if it's okay here, then maybe I'll try it?" She announced quietly. She might as well have screamed it though, for the other girl snapped to look at her, eyes wide. Then a huge grin took over.

"Yeah? You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm not about peer pressure." She promised. Max shook her head, though.

"Yeah. I should try as many things as I can, probably." She said, shrugging. She didn't add on that she thought that because she had an indelible sense of foreboding. No matter how used she got to Chloe and driving and freedom, she had the feeling that it wouldn't be able to last forever.

Chloe gave her another sunny grin, pulling up to a building and queuing up in a line of other cars.

"Time for breakfast. Any idea what you want, or should I order for you?" She inquired. Max waved dismissively, dropping her feet to the floorboard to free up the space between them for the food. They'd gone through a drive thru the night before, so Max wasn't as baffled by the system this time around. Chloe ordered, they waited, paid, then waited a bit more. Then they were on their way yet again.

Max munched diligently at her food, locating and unwrapping things for Chloe when she requested them, so she could keep at least one hand on the wheel and her eyes on the road, for the most part. She also gained control of the radio for a bit, and found a station that seemed to favor soft acoustics. It made her miss her guitar.

They ditched the food bag, stuffed with trash, while Chloe filled up on gas again. They took a potty break and cleaned up a bit in the bathrooms. Their reflections looked pretty grimy, and it wasn't just the gritty mirrors. Chloe grimaced, pulling her beanie off to reveal that her hair was starting to look a bit smushed, in the way that only happened when hair had gone unwashed a little too long. Max wasn't faring much better, her roots looking kind of greasy and her bangs falling in slight chunks. They didn't look good, by any means.

Though they'd gotten used to their own grunge and funk, they reasoned they might be a bit offensive to the general population, and that wasn't going away no matter how many times Chloe chanted 'tits, pits, and naughty bits' while washing up in the sink.

"We'll stay in a motel tonight. Get a good night's sleep and a good bath before we move on." Chloe decided, drying off her face with a paper towel before pulling her shirt back on. Max sighed dreamily at the thought, then grimaced as she put her pants back on.

"Um… Sorry, but could we maybe buy some clothes too? I don't want to complain, but I don't think I can wear these another day. I'm a little grossed out." She admitted.

Chloe nodded solemnly, pulling her shirt up to her nose and giving it a sniff, her nose wrinkling.

"Yeah, we're getting rank. And nose-blind, which is scary shit. So, to-do list for the day: new clothes, weed, the scrub down of a lifetime, and a warm bed." She listed. Max nodded, chuckling as Chloe flung an arm across her shoulders and lead her out of the bathroom.

She drove them to a building that was nearby and incredibly crowded. People scurried about in the lot, dodging cars and pushing huge metal baskets on wheels full of plastic bags. Max took it all in with fascinated caution, letting Chloe take her hand for fear that she'd lose the other girl in the chaos otherwise. They nearly got hit by like five cars, all of which received the middle finger from Chloe. (She'd taught Max the meaning only after she'd managed to get her to make the gesture at a trucker who had, very rightfully, honked at them angrily.)

Inside was just as busy as outside, and Max was still afraid of getting run over, only this time by people prowling around with the metal baskets from the lot. Chloe retrieved one of these as well, guiding it expertly along the shiny floor with Max clinging to the side like she'd seen several children do.

Nobody really paid the girls any mind, despite their disheveled appearances. They, honestly, weren't the worst looking (or smelling) pair milling around. Chloe easily navigated them into a small section devoted to clothes in what was appearing to be a huge store that held an enormous assortment of things.

"Sorry, kid, but no high fashion for us. We can get a bunch of shit at Walmart, or like, one fancy bra from Victoria's Secret. I choose 'more than one pair of undies.'" The taller girl chattered. "Just grab anything you like. We should get you some shoes, too. And don't forget a coat."

With that, she began sifting through the endless hangers of clothes, pulling things out occasionally to look at them. A few things got tossed into the cart, and other things were held up against Max for judgment before being accepted or put back. She also made sure that Max picked out a few hoodies and jackets, and then shoved her into a thick coat a size or two too big.

"Trust me, you want your coat a little big when you're on the road." She promised.

Then she lead the way to another section , this one full of shoes, helping Max find the size she needed and then helping her pick out some sneakers that were comfortable. She rolled her eyes, calling them 'off brand Chucks' but put them in the cart anyway.

She began tossing packages of panties and socks in as they passed, mostly indiscriminate aside from sizing.

"Sorry if you wanted cute undies, but I'm the only one who's gonna see 'em. Er… Presumably." She added, rubbing the back of her neck.

Then they were off to another area of clothing, this one marketed towards men, and Chloe grabbed some flannel shirts, which she seemed to have a fondness for, and a coat of her own. It looked sort of like a flannel shirt too, but Max opted not to comment.

With a bit of wandering, they wound up with a cart full of things they'd been miserably going without; fresh toothbrushes and paste, a stick of deodorant, a hairbrush, bottles of shampoo and conditioner that weren't a single serving. Chloe even had the foresight to grab a box of pads and tampons, and some baby wipes to help keep clean between bathing. They passed by a randomly placed display of duffles, and Chloe threw one of those in too, claiming that Max needed a travel bag of her own.

They finished up in the food area, indiscriminately grabbing pretty much anything that would keep and dumping it in on top of the clothes. Chloe loaded the bottom up with various drinks; Sodas, water, some juices. Max relished the thought of being well-stocked at last. No more driving thirsty, no more pining for snacks. No more flipping panties inside out to wear them again. She could cry.

The cashier that rang up their purchases kept side-eyeing them doubtfully as he slid the purchases into grey tinted plastic bags. Chloe seemed kind of annoyed at this, but Max understood; They definitely didn't look like they had the money for all this. But she had to admit, it _was_ a little satisfying to see the look on the cashier's face when Chloe pulled out the folded wad of cash and began counting the money out. Even more so when his counterfeit marker didn't react, and he begrudgingly wished them a good day.

They took a few minutes to sort out their purchases, storing most of the food in the mostly empty toolbox in the bed of Chloe's car. Max's newly bought duffle bag was packed with her new clothing and then tossed beside Chloe's.

Chloe was in a good enough mood as they left the store to sing along with the radio. Max liked it a lot when she did that; It was her opinion that the girl had a pleasant voice. Of course, anytime she got caught paying attention, Chloe's mouth would snap shut and her cheeks would get a bit red. So Max had been working on perfecting the technique of enjoying it without it being obvious.

She must have been getting good, because Chloe sang all the way to the next store they stopped at. This time, she instructed Max to wait in the car. When that was met with protest, she explained that she had to use a fake I.D. and that Max's 'doe eyes' screamed "I'm too young" from a mile away.

The brunette missed the meaning of most of the conversation, but decided to let Chloe go alone, since it seemed she had a valid reason. But she kept a close eye on her as she entered, and didn't really let herself relax again until the girl reemerged. It struck her then, maybe for the first time, how attached she'd become to her travel companion.

She'd certainly clung on, lost as she had been at the time that she'd met Chloe. But now, even after spending extended time with her, her feelings hadn't changed. In fact, she'd only grown to care more about her the more that she got to know Chloe.

The girl herself hopped up into the truck with a triumphant grin, tossing her purchase into Max's lap and throwing the truck back into gear, hitting the road with an urgency that made Max feel like she wanted to get away before they could second guess selling to her. They didn't come running after her, though, and they soon fell into the comfortable familiarity of travel.

"So, two things down. Motel is next on the list. Showers and getting blazed as fuck can follow." Chloe reasoned, turning down the radio a bit. Max just nodded, pulling a white bottle out of the brown bag. After some fiddling, she popped the lid off, and a sour, earthy smell began to fill the cabin. It was similar to the smell of the stuff Chloe had been smoking that morning, but significantly stronger. Chloe inhaled deeply while Max quickly capped it again.

She also found some of the little cigarette-esque rolls, significantly neater than the ones that Chloe did herself. It was all returned to the bag, which was set on the floorboard between her feet for the remainder of the drive. They drove a ways up the highway before stopping again at a motel on the side of the highway. It was well-lit and in sight, which Chloe mentioned when she pulled up. Safety first.

The older man at the desk seemed a bit reluctant until Chloe paid in advance for the night, and then they were given a set of keys and began the trek up the stairs after retrieving their bags and some food from the truck.

Chloe collapsed on the bed, letting out a loud groan as she did. Max smiled, sitting down next to her while looking around the room. It was bigger than the first motel, but not by much. The furniture inside was almost identical, only minute differences telling her she wasn't back where she'd started. She could see how the days might start blurring together, but maybe that was part of the whimsy of traveling.

After a deep sigh, Chloe forced herself upright again. She offered Max a tired looking smile, then long-armed for the brown bag that she'd brought up with her from the truck.

"We're gonna smoke and then shower, if that's cool with you. Showering high is really nice." She explained, pulling the containers out of the bag. Max just nodded, sitting back on her hands a bit while Chloe worked. She watched the girl flit over to her abandoned bag, rooting through until she found whatever she was looking for.

She sat at the table with the white bottle, and Max looked over the other items with cautious interest. One was a metal cylinder, the other an oddly shaped, colorful piece of glass. Dark pink and blue swirled and danced in a pattern that seemed both random and carefully calculated, like really good abstract art. Chloe reached for the cylinder first, and Max watched her pinch some of the leafy stuff from the container into it.

"So, uh, yeah. I guess I should be explaining. This is a grinder." She displayed the little metal contraption. "Weed comes as a bud, cause that's how it grows on the plant, so you've gotta grind it up smaller to smoke it. You put it in the top here, like I've done, then you twist the top around and it falls through the holes when it's small enough."

While she spoke, her hands moved to flawlessly follow her own instructions, the grinder squeaking in protest as she rotated the top-most portion. She did this for a few extended seconds, occasionally tapping it against the table, then she twisted at the middle and the top part came off, revealing a little bed of what looked like light green leaves.

"You can touch it if you want, just be careful not to spill it everywhere." Chloe offered. Max reached out a finger and cautiously poked at the leaves, noting the texture as she picked up just a little pinch to roll between her fingers. She let the slightly smushed bits fall back in, then retracted her hand so Chloe could go on. The other girl got to work pinching the leaves into a small crater in the glass she'd gotten from her bag.

"This is a pipe." She explained, not ceasing her work. "It's one of like a million ways you can smoke; I've got some joints in the bag, which is weed rolled up in cigarette paper. You can also roll it in cigar papers, which are a little different. And there are all kinds of pipes, too."

Max was certain she'd never remember this all, but she appreciated Chloe taking the time to explain it. The girl did an amazing job of breaking things down so they were easy to understand, and Max was growing to love learning new things from her. She was a surprisingly fantastic teacher.

"I prefer pipes, myself. But it's not always convenient. Since it's your first time, though, I think we can afford to break out Aurora." She said, grinning as she gestured with the pipe, which she'd apparently finished filling.

"Aurora?" Max prompted, the name unfamiliar.

"Yeah, that's my pipe. Er, sorry. It's sort of a tradition to name them." She clarified, getting up to go back to her bag and fish around for her lighter. Once she'd found it, she grabbed the pipe and joined Max again on the bed.

Nerves set in for the brunette at last, but she resolved herself to see it through, if only because Chloe was obviously excited. And she trusted Chloe wouldn't do anything that would hurt her, so the worry seemed a little silly. Instead of the nervous fluttering in her stomach, she honed in on the warmth of Chloe's thigh pressed against hers as they sat side by side. It was comforting.

"Alright, I'm gonna go first, and you watch, alright? You put your thumb here to block this little hole, then this part is where your mouth goes. Once you're all set up, you light it and then you really just have to breathe in and hold it."

She demonstrated, the lighter flicking to life and casting her face in orange yet again. Once some of the little leaves caught, she withdrew the lighter and just began sucking in. Towards the end, her thumb came off of the smaller hole, and the ember-like fire died down as she withdrew, holding her breath for an impressive time before releasing a thick stream of whitish smoke. It slithered around them a few seconds before heading for the ceiling and dissipating from sight.

With a little cough, she handed the pipe over to Max, who took it gingerly and with a bit of fear, maybe.

"I'll light it for you, so you don't even have to worry about that. When you think you've got enough, which for you will probably be right about when you start, you pull your thumb off the hole-it's called a carburetor-and try to get whatever smoke is left in the pipe. But seriously, don't worry about doing it right, just give it your best shot." She suggested, offering a small smile. Before she lit it, she reached for a bottle of water from the bag at their feet, opening it and setting it nearby.

"I'm not going to lie, the first hit is usually pretty sucky. It's gonna make you cough like mad, unless you're one of those weirdos that somehow already has lungs of steel." She admitted. "But trust me, it gets easier. Don't let this first one put you off. And don't let me scare you. You've got this." She promised, finally holding her lighter up to signify that it was truly time to start.

Max hesitated, but brought the pipe to her lips as Chloe had done, carefully covering the little hole. She didn't flinch as Chloe brought the flame to the bowl, despite the proximity to her finger, confident that the girl wouldn't burn her.

"Go on, start breathing in." Chloe instructed. Max complied, briefly seeing the flame dip down into the leaves as she sucked it in. All too soon, though, she found herself unable to do anything but hack up what felt like an entire lung. Chloe sympathetically patted her back, then handed her the water as soon as she could calm down enough to drink it.

When her senses returned, Max began to wonder what Chloe saw in this. Her eyes felt hot and she knew her cheeks were streaked with tears. She felt raw from the back of her throat down to the middle of her chest, and her stomach was hurting a bit from the effort of coughing.

But Chloe's hand, which was still smoothing circles against her back, felt pretty nice. Not warm, per se, but the pressure of her thin fingers was pleasant. She paused to take another go at the pipe, making it look easy yet again as smoke curled around them, then she handed it back.

Max wasn't sure she wanted to do it again. But Chloe had said the first one would be terrible. She was going to have to trust her on that. And Chloe wanted her to. That was reason enough, she supposed. So she got back into position, and Chloe lit it for her again.

Truth be told, it still hurt pretty much just as bad. But she forced herself to try and hold it in like Chloe had, and managed a second or two before she resumed her sputtering coughing fit. Her throat hurt even more, but she managed to reign it in much faster, gulping the water to relieve the burn.

Chloe grinned sunnily at the apparent improvement, taking her turn, eyes closed as her cheeks hollowed out with the force. Before she let it out, though, her eyes went wide, and then she gestured for Max to get closer. Not sure how to read the situation, but faithful in Chloe's control over it, Max did as instructed.

Her eyes went wide as Chloe's face got closer, her heart beating so fast she wasn't sure it was beating at all. She thought briefly that Chloe was going to kiss her, but before their lips brushed the other girl brought her hands up to cup around her mouth, pressing them against Max's face as well before exhaling.

Getting the idea, Max sucked in a breath, feeling the smoke go down but without the horrendous burn this time. She managed to hold it in several seconds before letting it out. It wasn't as thick as Chloe's, but she was sort of impressed to see how much she'd actually managed, even if she was still coughing quietly to relieve the sting.

Chloe nudged her side, teeth showing in a bright smile.

"Not bad, Max." She commented, winking. It renewed the burst of butterflies in the brunette's stomach. Why had she thought Chloe was going to kiss her? Well, no, that wasn't the part that concerned her. Chloe had been leaning in towards her face, that was a normal conclusion to come to, probably. What worried her was how little she would have minded if that had been the case.

Was that a sign of how truly close they'd become in the few days they'd been together? She'd never even thought of kissing anyone, which was understandable considering the company she used to keep. But now that it had crossed her mind, she got the feeling she'd be thinking about it a lot.

For now, though, she returned her attention to the task at hand, diligently taking her turn with the pipe. She managed to get a good one at last, holding the smoke in properly before letting it spill from her lips. Only a few coughs, a quick drink, and she was starting to think maybe this wasn't so bad.

Chloe seemed to notice her shift in attitude as well, offering a knowing smile as she burned up the last of the color in the leaves. She blew the smoke into Max's mouth again, then got up and tapped the pipe gently against the trashcan. The blackened contents fell out, then she set the pipe on her bedside table before returning to Max on the bed.

"Alright, just chill out for a bit. You'll start feeling it in a sec." She promised, laying back on the mattress. Max blinked for a moment, then joined her, staring up at the ceiling. It was quiet, but comfortable, and she let out a little sigh of content. A sort of numbness was starting to wash over her, the aches she'd been noticing all but disappearing as she tried to find them again.

Her mind was also starting to feel a bit soft. Thoughts became slower and less important to her. She hardly considered before rolling over to face Chloe, nudging closer so she could feel the coolness of Chloe's arm against her cheek.

The girl chuckled, snaking her arm around behind Max's back and drawing her just a bit closer so she could absently rub from her neck down to the bottom of her shoulder blades.

"Think you're feeling it?" She wondered. Max just nodded against her, letting her eyes close and mind hone in on the sensation of Chloe's nails, gentle against her back as she lightly scratched. "Good. You like it?"

Again, Max nodded, finding it in her to look up at last, offering a small smile.

"Yeah. It's nice." She agreed, taking a deep breath. She sort of regretted it, though. "Wow, we smell bad." She admitted, sitting up. Chloe barked a laugh, following suit.

"Gee, thanks Max." She snarked, voice lilting and endlessly playful. It made Max grin right along with her. "You want first shower?" She wondered, nodding towards the bathroom.

"Um…" Was all Max could really come up with, glancing at the door. She did want to get clean, but she also wanted to stay with Chloe while she was feeling so nice. She felt very open, comfortable, and she liked sharing that with the other girl.

Chloe seemed to sense her dilemma, for she grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bathroom without getting an answer. Max didn't put up much of a fight, tagging along curiously. When Chloe began taking her clothes off, though, she began to wonder if she really ought to have.

The other girl looked over her freshly bared shoulder, quirking a brow.

"You've seen me naked before. Let's just take one together." She clarified. Max blinked, considering for a moment that they might not be on that level with each other. Without any real experience with the common person, she had no idea if it was a strange suggestion. Some part of her mind thought so, but most of her mind was too hazy to really discern any reason it was a bad idea.

At that point, they'd shared countless bathrooms, washed up in sinks together, and awkwardly changed in the tiny space provided by the truck cab. A shared shower was hardly going to be offensive.

Max got to work discarding her own clothes, letting the mangy things fall to floor without much care. Chloe was already in when she finished, and she slipped in behind the other girl, waiting patiently for her turn under the spray. Her fingers idly smeared through water droplets on the tiles, joining them into bigger drops until they trickled down the wall with the weight.

Chloe nudged past her to reach for some soap, and Max took a step to have her turn, basking under the warm water until Chloe had returned for a rinse. Every time they brushed, skin slick and warm, Max felt that nervous sensation in her stomach again, but it was dull and not too concerning.

It seemed like they were done in no time at all, standing on the chilly tiles with towels wrapped around their shoulders, hair dripping onto the floor. Chloe scrubbed an extra towel through her hair a few times, then reached out and did the same for Max, sending her brown locks in every direction with a chuckle.

They settled into some of the new clothes, and Max relished the feeling of the fresh, clean cotton panties and a soft t-shirt at last. She crawled into bed once she'd dressed, and Chloe squeezed in after turning the television on and finding a program that she deemed acceptable.

It wasn't a very large bed, honestly. Just big enough for two people and a little space on the edge. Compared to the truck, though, it didn't feel cramped. Chloe's skin was still warm from the shower where it pressed against Max's, and she found herself leaning into the touch yet again. Chloe didn't hesitate to resume their position from before the shower, nails soft against the back of the brunette's t-shirt.

The show played quietly, only half-commanding her attention, the rest occupied with her half-thoughts. The silence between them was comfortable, companionable. Chloe reached for a bag of chips and wordlessly set it between them, as if she knew Max would ask for some. Maybe she did. They devoured the entire bag in what felt like seconds flat, and the brunette wondered if she could even name the flavor, she'd tasted so little of it.

Chloe crumpled the bag up and tossed it to be forgotten, yawning and rolling over till she could drape her other arm over Max's side, pulling her closer and squeezing tightly for a moment before relaxing and going entirely slack.

"Fuck, I'm tired. How about you, Super Max?" She asked, a hand coming up to card through Max's brown locks. They'd already dried all the way, so they must have been lounging together longer than Max realized. She nodded, her own exhaustion showing in the sluggishness of the motion. It seemed answer enough, for Chloe reached behind her for the remote, shutting the TV down, then killing the light.

They shifted around a bit, but settled down in much the same position. Max tucked her head under Chloe's chin, using the girl's breathing to help her steady her own. She thought it sort of funny, in a way, that they'd made such a fuss about not sleeping in the truck again, considering they couldn't help but sleep just as closely as if they didn't have any room to spare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No matter how many horrible things I write, no matter how many parents and lovers I kill, I'm still a romantic at heart I guess. Sorry if it seems soon. But I sort of like how quickly things moved in the game itself, to the point that sometimes it almost blurred and it got hard to tell how much time had passed. That sort of timelessness is really breathtaking to me.
> 
> Also girls that can't help but fall in love.
> 
> The next few chapters are going to kind of focus on their relationship, so I'm sorry in advance to those that are in it for the action stuff. It's not gone entirely, just briefly on hold.
> 
> And I'd like to say sorry for the wait. It's been hard to find time, lately, as I've started working two jobs. I was always amazed by people that could do that, and now here I am. Lemme tell you, it's exhausting! I'm still working, though, promise.
> 
> Thanks again to anyone who's still hanging around! Till next time!
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


	5. Chapter 5

Max blinked blearily at the corn in the fields that surrounded them on either side. She turned to look out of Chloe's window too, but was met with basically the exact same sight, broken only by the stream of cars on the other side of the highway whizzing by in the opposite direction. She huffed.

"Chloe, I dunno how much more corn I can take." She admitted, ashamed that the boredom got the better of her. Despite having seen a cornfield in real life for the first time only day or so ago, it was quickly proving to be anything but extraordinary, at least to look at.

The other girl smiled wryly.

"Oh Max, we've only just barely entered field territory. Hope you like level ground and crops as far as the eye can see, cause that's what you're gonna be looking at for the foreseeable future." She chuckled. Max groaned.

Missouri was proving to be more of a 'misery' to her than she could have imagined. She smirked at her own joke, but didn't bother sharing it aloud, knowing Chloe wouldn't find it as funny. Hiking her legs up on the dash, she let out a sigh.

"We'll pull off for some air in a bit. Smoke with me?" Her companion offered, holding the blunt she'd been puffing on. Max took it and stole a couple drags before handing it back, letting the smoke haze her mind into not caring about the corn anymore, honing in on the music playing instead.

"Can I change the station?" She asked, waiting for a nod before doing so. Chloe didn't seem to mind when she put on an indie station, so that was what she settled on. Chloe passed her the blunt again, and they finished it off before stopping at a station for a potty break.

A lady gave them a look when they went into the bathroom, and Max briefly wondered what that was about, but Chloe didn't seem to pay it any mind, so she decided to ignore it too, locking the door and then stripping down so she could get washed up. Chloe was already using the toilet, so she waited her turn, cleaning under her arms diligently in the meantime.

Chloe nudged her out of the way when she was done, and they switched. They'd gotten the 'high efficiency' thing down ages ago, and it was simply muscle memory at that point. Once finished up, they headed back into the gas station, grabbing a couple of drinks from the coolers. Chloe got a pack of cigarettes and a new lighter as well.

"So, we're starting to run low on cash. It feels like it went really fast." Chloe admitted, frowning. "But then, we did have to get clothes and stuff. But shit, I hate to ask you to do that again."

Max didn't get a chance to reply, for the lady she'd noticed looking at them earlier was outside, apparently waiting for them. Her face hardened when she saw them coming, and she seemed to gather herself up before walking over, as if to make herself look bigger. She thrust a small book out, shoving it at Max. The brunette was too stunned to take it, especially when the woman started muttering rapidly.

Chloe tugged Max to her side, out of the woman's reach, and gave her the most dramatic middle finger Max had ever seen her pull off.

"You can fuck right off." She snarled, leading the way to the truck with Max in tow. The lady was too shocked to do anything but splutter, and Max was too shocked to do anything but follow Chloe into the truck. The tires squealed when Chloe pulled out, making the brunette wince.

They drove much over the speed limit, the truck groaning out its protest, but Chloe's expression made the silence a tense requirement. Her brows were knit angrily, and Max knew better than to try and talk it out when she looked like that. She'd tried once and had gotten a withering glare that would make a grown man cry.

So she waited, putting up with the punks screaming on the radio until the girl with blue hair calmed down enough that she felt safe chancing a conversation.

"What did she want?" She asked. Chloe didn't like to beat around the bush, so the direct route was best.

The girl sighed, turning down the music so that it faded into the thrum of the engine. Weariness mixed with the outrage, making her look too old for just a moment.

"She was being a homophobic bitch, telling us to find god and burn in hell and shit." Was what she finally offered.

This gave Max pause, her mind working to put it all together. The woman was trying to give her a bible, she realized. She must have thought that she and Chloe were a couple. Because they went into the bathroom together? It was stupid. What business was it of hers, anyway?

Chloe sighed, leaning against her window.

"Look, just forget about it. But we're probably gonna start getting that more often. We're driving through the Midwest, and the people here are cold, bitter, and full of hate on a good day. We're kinda in the Southern part of Missouri right now, but we're heading Northeast. It'll get better the further we go." She explained.

Max's lips pulled down at the corners, but she nodded.

"Why do they think we're together?" She wondered. Chloe snickered.

"We're two girls traveling alone together, I've got blue hair and a beanie, you're wearing a flannel, we go to the bathroom together, share a bed… I mean, we're practically married already."

Max's face went red, even though she knew Chloe was only joking. It wasn't as if they had a choice in these things… Well, Chloe's hair was a choice. But flannels were warm and cheap, going in together was time efficient, and they could only afford one bed. It was hardly what Max would call romantic (though she knew very little on the matter.)

"You're overthinking it, dude. Who cares what they think?" Chloe demanded. Max gave her a smile, and nodded.

"Yeah. Sorry."

Chloe rolled her eyes, turning the music up a bit, but not nearly as loud as before. And she changed it to a gentler station, sparing Max anymore unbearable screamo. They drove for a while with just the music between them, sprawling fields occasionally giving way to towns along the way, only to switch back after a few minutes.

They stopped in a small city called Columbia for lunch. After pulling the same stunt at an atm in the downtown area, they sat down for some Thai. Max was nearly in tears, but the spicy food warmed her up as they hopped back in the truck and searched out a place for Chloe to get coffee.

Max had come to know that Starbucks was synonymous with coffee, so she was unsurprised when they pulled up to a familiar store. Chloe parked in the back, though Max got the feeling she wasn't really supposed to, considering it was a shady alley and every other space they'd seen had been metered. They went inside and ordered whatever it was Chloe ordered, (which always received somewhat concerned looks from the employees) and were on their way.

While she waited for her coffee to cool down enough to sip, they cleaned out the truck, ridding it of the garbage they accumulated by practically living in it. Chloe even hopped up into the bed and sifted through the toolbox, fishing out wrappers and empty bottles.

She'd dug her way to the bottom and had declared herself finished when she made a surprised noise and surfaced with a pleased grin on her face.

"Dude, score!" She enthused, hopping out of the truck, landing right next to Max and grabbing her shoulder to stabilize herself. She had a funny shaped box in her other hand. "It's my dad's old camera. You know what those are?"

Max nodded, looking at it with new interest.

"It's a polaroid, so the pictures pop out as soon as you take 'em. Film's kind of expensive now, but they're pretty cool. Not really my thing, but dude, you have it." She said, depositing the camera into Max's hands.

The brunette looked down at it in awe for a moment. Chloe did things at a speed she found impossible to keep up with. That was something she liked about Chloe though; She was unpredictable.

"C-Chloe, I can't take this-" She finally concluded, trying in vain to tip the camera back into Chloe's possession. The girl refused, already back in the bed of the truck. She took the opportunity to light up a joint, trusting the high buildings all around them to hide her actions.

"Listen, Mad Max, you're the best person I could give that thing to. You're seeing everything for the first time. You can really see what's beautiful. You'll take the best pictures." She promised, passing the joint over the edge of the bed. Max took it automatically, a habit at that point, and brought it to her lips.

"I don't know how much film is left, but don't worry about wasting it. We can splurge a bit on this, I think. And we could just start taking out a hundred every once in a while, so you don't strain your power. We could get a little saved up so we don't have to worry so much if we have an emergency or something. Or if you need expensive film."

Chloe must have bought a different kind of weed at some point, because this stuff was making her chatty. The stuff before, which had been almost purplish in color, had made her very quiet and introspective. Max didn't mind either, but it was kind of endearing, the way Chloe was rambling. It made her smile as she handed the joint back over. Chloe pulled a long drag.

"What are you gonna take a picture of first? I wonder if we'll drive by anything pretty around here… It would suck if your first picture was of a cow or something… Well, I guess we can start driving and-"

She paused when she heard the loud shutter sound the camera made when Max hit the button to take a photo. True to Chloe's word, a square of film spat out of a slot, and Max grabbed it. It was just a black square framed in white. It was sort of disappointing.

"Did you just take a picture of me?" Chloe demanded, leaning over the bed now in a bid to look as well. Max handed it over, pouting.

"I tried to. It didn't come out though." She explained. Chloe rolled her eyes, shaking the film a few times.

"It has to develop, chill. Just wait a minute and you'll start seeing it." She offered, passing it back. Max accepted it with a new hope, holding it delicately in her hands and shaking it like she'd seen Chloe do.

"I can't believe you wasted your first shot on me." Chloe mumbled, hopping out of the bed of the truck. Max's eyes narrowed, but she got into her seat as Chloe started the truck.

"Why is it a waste? You said I should take pictures of things that are beautiful." She argued. Chloe seemed to chew on that a while, then her face went inexplicably pink and she refused to make eye contact as they relocated the highway.

By that time, the picture had fully developed, and Max found herself with a delightful square full of Chloe, white smoke wafting around her and making her pop against the grey of the surrounding alleyway behind a Starbucks in Somewhere, America. She showed it to the girl when they arrived at a stoplight, and she got pink again.

They'd just made it out of town when Chloe made a noise that clearly meant she'd just gotten a terrible idea, and came to what seemed like a last-minute decision to exit; They wound up pressed against the window and each other with the force of her turn. She nudged the truck into a grassy lot apparently belonging to a barn. Max quirked a brow but didn't argue as Chloe led her inside. She walked immediately off to a counter and struck up a conversation with the lady there.

Maybe they were getting food? It didn't smell like a restaurant, though. It smelled like hay. And when Chloe returned from the counter, it wasn't with food but with papers. She handed Max what could only be a ticket, then urged her out of the door.

"Zip your jacket up. We're going in there." She said, pointing at the entrance to what looked suspiciously like a corn field. Max gave her a look. "Whoa, you been working on that glare? I know you hate corn. That's why I'm making it fun. It's a maze! Come on, go!"

Max sighed, but trudged along. She wasn't really mad. If she was being honest, it was pretty funny. She didn't want to give Chloe the satisfaction of knowing she was clever though, at least, not yet.

They handed over their tickets, then walked a few feet in. Chloe produced a map, pointing out the exit that they were supposed to head for. Max tried to trace a path in her mind, military training memorizing the first fifteen turns before Chloe hastily closed the map and shoved it in her pocket.

"Hey, no weird superpower shit! In fact, no more map." She decided. Max heaved another dramatic sigh, but knew Chloe wasn't going to cave on it.

They walked forward, the first fifteen turns sure in Max's mind. After that, though, they began to turn blindly. Chloe led them into so many dead ends that Max began to consider rewinding so she could spare them the time. But it was sort of fun, seeing the way Chloe would just about-face and stomp off in another wrong direction when she messed up.

When they finally did manage to pop out of the exit, there was no big reward for all the frustration. No confetti, or sweets, or even a person to say 'nice job.' But there were a lot of big trees, which were showing the oranges and reds of fall, and the wind was shaking them right off the branches, and Chloe looked so vibrant in her all blues and blacks as she laughed in triumph, and Max found herself automatically taking another picture.

"Max! Did you just take another-"

She was already shaking the film, a smile pulling at her lips. Chloe just sighed, looping their arms together and leading the way back to the truck.

"Do you still hate corn?" She wondered, picking a strip of husk out of Max's hair.

"Definitely." The brunette replied, grinning as she showed her companion the picture that had started fading in. Chloe glanced at it, took in her own image, prancing around victoriously, surrounded by incoming autumn, then huffed, ruffling Max's hair before climbing into the driver's seat and leaving the corn maze behind.

The new picture found a resting place along with the first in Chloe's dash console for the time being. Max resolved to get a little folder or something so that she could keep them in her bag. The camera rested on her tummy, ready in case anything else caught her fancy. But they were soon back to corn fields and a general brownness, and Max didn't blame Chloe for turning the music up out of sheer boredom.

She let her head bob minutely to the beat, and Max considered taking another photo. But Chloe would probably start to get annoyed if she only ever took pictures of her. It would have been a nice shot, though.

"So," She finally said over the music. "We're headed for Chicago now. We're getting pretty close. We'll stop in Chicago for a night to recoup, then we'll be driving north."

Max nodded, smiling at the prospect of a bed to sleep in soon.

"We're getting close to Rachel, I can feel it." Chloe murmured, almost too quietly for Max to hear. Almost. She bristled at the mention, inexplicable even to herself. She had no reason to dislike Rachel. She didn't know anything about her other than her name and that Chloe was trying to find her.

Actually, she was starting to realize that she knew very little about Chloe in general, let alone her friends. Being around her felt so natural that it was almost hard to believe they'd been complete strangers only days ago. But, even though she'd admitted her big secret, Max hadn't really told Chloe much either.

That was problematic.

"Uh, Chloe?" She prompted softly, turning the music down cautiously. The other girl quirked a brow to show she was paying attention. "Would you mind, um, telling me about Rachel? I just realized, we've been together all this time, and you never even told me who she is, or why you're looking for her. I know you don't owe me an explanation, I understand if it's personal. I'm just curious." She trailed, voice getting smaller the longer she rambled.

Chloe's face became void of emotion for a moment, then she found it in her to smile.

"Rachel Amber. She was… She was my everything."

Max bit her lip. Somehow, she'd had a feeling that would be the case. For some reason, it bothered her. Maybe because she'd never met the girl? Perhaps she was being protective over Chloe. After all, how could a girl that had left her behind be worth her everything?

She kept quiet.

"Is." Chloe corrected, after a moment. "She's my best friend, and she got me out of a really bad place, and… Well, shit, I love her." She admitted, her cheeks a little flushed. But the color faded along with any semblance of happiness. All Chloe had left was a tired looking frown.

"But she just… Vanished. I saw her the night before, snuck out her window. She was gone when I stopped by to get my phone around noon. She didn't say a word to anyone. Not me, not her parents. She just left."

Chloe sounded so hurt, and if she wasn't busy driving Max would have wrapped her up in a hug, and possibly never let go. She was used to loud, pissy, firecracker Chloe. But as she spoke of her abandonment, all she mustered was a weary bitterness at the betrayal. It was pitiful, and not at all suited to her.

"No one else seems to care." She continued, clearing her throat. "But I'm not gonna let the best thing that ever happened to me just disappear without a trace." She concluded.

Max absorbed the information for a while, really turned it over in her mind. Was finding Rachel Amber the best thing for Chloe? It sounded like the girl left on purpose, the way Chloe said it. If she'd left without telling Chloe, didn't that imply that she'd wanted to leave her behind?

But how could she say that to Chloe? What would be left of her if she didn't have the goal of finding Rachel?

What if they _did_ find Rachel?

What would that mean for Max? No matter the outcome, Max had reason for concern. What would Chloe do if Rachel came back to her? If she didn't? Nothing was sure for Max after they reached New York. Would she just stay there, as far from Jefferson as possible? Should she try to keep moving? Where would she get the transportation, though?

And how could she go without Chloe? The girl was the only friend she'd ever really had. She couldn't even imagine separating, couldn't remember what it was like to travel without her. But then, how long could this really last? At some point, Chloe would want to go home, or settle down with Rachel, or get back to flying solo. Max couldn't tag along forever.

She'd quickly gone from an excited anticipation for New York to a nauseating dread, each mile they drew closer she only felt more and more like she was sinking into tar.

Chloe pulled up for drive thru, and ordered for them both as she usually did. Max found it kind of tedious to eat, for the first time since her escape. Chloe noticed her slowed pace, it was obvious, but she didn't say anything. She didn't have to though, for she freed up a hand from the wheel and placed it warm on Max's thigh.

It soothed her more than Chloe probably knew, and she let her concerns be filed away for the time being. For now, they were together. No sense in working herself up before it was even an issue. And Chloe wouldn't just leave her in the dust. It would work out, one way or another.

With a hum, Max slouched back into her seat, swinging her legs up and planting them in Chloe's lap so she could stretch out against the window. Chloe chanced a glance away from the road so she could look at Max, offering her a small smile, a bit crooked. The brunette smiled back, letting her head rest against the rattling glass. The thrum might give her a headache after a while, but it was sort of pleasant at the moment.

Chloe's phone, for the first time since Max had met her, buzzed to life with a tinny rendition of some indie song. She seemed just as perplexed as Max was, withdrawing it from the cup holder it had been resting in. With a swipe of her finger, the music stopped, and she put it up to her ear and mumbled 'hello' into the receiver.

She was silent for a long time, just driving with the phone crushed between her shoulder and ear. Max could faintly hear a voice on the other line, not nearly loud enough to understand. She wasn't trying to listen in, though, so that was okay.

"…Yeah. No, I'm fine mom." Chloe finally spoke up. Her voice was so soft, and Max wondered if that ever happened with anyone but her mom. Something about speaking to your mother made you feel like a child, no matter what. Max's throat tightened at the thought.

"No, not anymore. I picked up… A friend on the way. No, you don't know her. No, mom, she's not a hitchhiker! She's cool. We've been together since L.A." Chloe cut off, and the woman on the other end spoke again, louder this time.

"We're in Missouri right now." Chloe offered, grabbing the phone with her left hand and driving with her right to give her neck a break. "No, I'm not gonna say where. You'll send step-shit out here in a helicopter or something. Look, I'm fine. We just ate a McDonald's feast, we're staying in a hotel tonight, and we've got enough money to last us days. Chill." She hissed. Her voice sounded angry, but her face was telling a different story on Max's end.

She looked sad. Homesick, maybe. Max got the feeling she and her mother probably fought like this a lot. But she could also tell that Chloe really cared about her mother, from the way her brow drew up to the lip trapped between her teeth.

Chloe offered her mother a brief farewell, then ended the call and dropped her phone back into the cup holder with a small clatter that made Max jump just a bit. She had to take a few calming breaths before she could offer the brunette an apology though, and her voice trembled minutely when she did. Max frowned, unable to offer her any comfort other than her presence.

For a while, Chloe stared out of her window. Her breathing was shallow. But she reigned in her emotions, and was smiling when she turned to face Max again at last.

"Sorry, Max. I wasn't expecting that call… I think I get my sass from my mom, she really knows how to put me in my fuckin' place." She chuckled, running her fingers through the back of her hair. Max smiled for her, sitting up properly and stealing the hand tangled in blue hair, trapping it between her own and squeezing.

"You don't need to be embarrassed about loving your mom, Chloe. I'd never, ever make fun of you for something like that." She promised. Chloe seemed a little surprised by her earnest declaration, but she didn't say anything about it. Max let her hand go, remembering she might need it to drive, and returned to her own side of the truck. Her cheeks were feeling warm as she realized how close she'd gotten, without even thinking.

_Personal space, Max. That's a thing._

The sarcastic voice in her head sounded suspiciously like Chloe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like the wait gets a little longer every time. Maybe it's just me? It's been a bit tough to find the time and energy between my two jobs, but never give up, you know? I'm actually posting this in the two hours I have between shifts. Gotta do whatchu gotta do.
> 
> I'm actually from Columbia, so you'll have to forgive my unabashed throwback to my city. It's not really a place I would say you should stop on a road trip, but considering it's in the middle of Missouri, it's surprisingly tolerable for the most part. We're a college town, so it's pretty artsy. So we like to think, anyway.
> 
> Alright, I don't have too much time, so off I go. Thanks again to everyone for reading and for all of the generous feedback thus far. I've really enjoyed talking to everyone and gaining some perspective.
> 
> Till next time!
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


	6. Chapter 6

Chloe was sitting on the rail of the balcony, a cigarette clamped between her lips. It was chilly in Chicago, but she refused to put her jacket on, braving it in just a tank top. Max could see the goosebumps on her arms, but she kept her mouth shut, knowing Chloe's pride wouldn't allow her to fetch her jacket now.

Max took a picture just as the girl began to exhale, shaking her shot before leaving it, and the camera, on the table. After pulling on her coat like a sensible person, she joined Chloe outside, flashing the girl a smile before sidling up next to her, close enough that her arm pressed against the other girl's leg.

"Did you take another picture of me? How many is that, even?" Chloe wondered. Max shrugged, grinning up at her sheepishly.

"Sorry. You're just really beautiful. I don't even mean to do it sometimes." She admitted. Chloe's cheeks got a bit redder, and Max knew it wasn't because of the chill. She didn't take compliments very well, it had become obvious.

Upon exhaling, a cloud of steam spilled from Max's lips.

"It's cold. Are you sure you don't want a jacket?" She wondered. Chloe scoffed, nudging her with her knee.

"I'm fine. Wanna smoke a joint real quick, since you're out here?" She asked, hopping down from her perch.

"Okay." Max agreed, shoving her hands in her pockets to protect her fingers. Chloe was insane.

She produced the promised joint in little to no time, so she must have already had it done, as if she knew Max would say yes. She probably did. After rolling her eyes at Max's huddled posture, Chloe nudged the joint between the other girl's lips and lit it for her. Max puffed, then let Chloe take it for her turn. She felt the haze settle over her rather quickly, and sighed happily as it seemed to take the edge off the cold just a bit, though her body shivered as if in protest.

Chloe passed it back to her, then lurched forward and stuffed herself into the extra space in Max's coat. Her arms wrapped around the brunette's middle, cold where they pressed against her back. Smoke came up as Max laughed, wrapping her arms around Chloe with her hands still in her pockets, so that they were both cocooned inside.

It was awkward, seeing as Chloe was taller. She had to stoop, and maneuver the joint and lighter between them, since Max couldn't use her hands. But it was also cozy.

"Not a word, Maxaroni." She warned as Max opened her mouth, caught red-handed about to make a snide remark about her 'not needing a coat.' She settled for a chuckle, letting Chloe finish off the joint before releasing her so they could shuffle back inside.

"We're _so_ ordering a pizza." Chloe announced, rooting through all of the drawers in the room until she found a binder. "What do you like on pizza? Oh, wait, right. Um, do you like pepperoni?"

Max didn't know what a pepperoni was. Chloe seemed to catch on.

"Alright, well, good thing you're not a picky eater. I'll get something relatively normal, for your sake. You can have first shower. Pizza might be here when you get out." She offered.

Max shuffled into the bathroom without argument, ready to warm up in the shower after being outside. She'd never really appreciated showers until they'd become a rare treat. Granted, they were much nicer now, since she knew she didn't have an audience. Every part of the bunker had been under surveillance, including the bathrooms.

Privacy was new and wondrous. How anyone could live their whole lives on camera, she couldn't imagine. How she'd done it up until her escape was another mystery to her. Now she didn't have to be embarrassed about how long she was in the bathroom, or conscious of which direction she was facing when she bent over in the shower. Some guards and monitors didn't have anything better to do than to humiliate her with information they shouldn't have about times that should have been private.

Chloe knocked on the door, then it opened.

"Sorry dude, I gotta pee crazy bad." She called over the curtain. Max made a noncommittal noise.

Perhaps Chloe counted as an invasion of privacy. It was incredibly common for her to interrupt Max's showers, and even more common for them to be in the bathroom at the same time. Traveling together the way they did meant they'd seen pretty much all of each other. It was strange, though; It had never been bothersome. It never felt like Chloe was scrutinizing or leering at her, like some of the guards had done. She just sort of existed in the same space, like she always did.

It was perhaps a little comforting, even. It had already become so natural that it felt normal. Like they really were living together. It was a nice thought, at least.

"Flush when you get out. Didn't want to turn you into Lobster-Max." Chloe called. Max just managed a 'thanks' as the door clicked shut again.

What was it going to be like when Chloe was gone? It was jarring to picture leaving the bathroom to find anything but the girl sprawled out on the bed, or sitting in a chair the wrong way watching TV. Again, Max had to shake the thought from her mind. She couldn't think like that. It hurt.

Chloe grinned at her from the bed when she emerged, brandishing a cardboard box victoriously. That would be the food then. Max shuffled through her bag till she found a fresh pair of underwear and a shirt to sleep in, wrapping her hair up in the towel before joining Chloe for dinner.

What it was, she wasn't entirely sure. It sort of looked like bread cut in a circle, but also cheese, and it had red dots all over. Chloe handed her a paper plate, then scooped up a piece, which oozed with melted cheese that had Max's eyes lighting up and her mouth watering, and deposited it, along with a plastic fork.

"Pizza, Max, is the ultimate food. Bread, cheese, garlic, meat, veggies, whatever the fuck you want. All together and baked to golden perfection. Like, look at this beautiful shit." She urged, gesturing to the piece she'd claimed for herself. Max nodded, understanding her enthusiasm.

"This is a deep dish, because we're in Chicago. It's what they do. You have to use a fork. I mean, you don't have to, I guess, but like, your funeral." She shrugged. "It'll change depending on where you go. In New York, it's all about thin crust. It's super flat, and you fold it in half and just carry it with you and eat. We'll get some pizza there too." She promised, taking a bite at last. As if that was the permission she needed, Max began eating as well.

McDonalds had nothing on Pizza.

"I love pizza." She shared.

As she always did, Chloe found her honest reactions hilarious and began laughing. Max couldn't help but join her. Chloe had a special kind of laugh, when she really meant it. It was so honest and open, impossible to ignore, but a bit hard to coax out.

Max was glad she could, though. It made her laugh in earnest too.

It came to a halt with the sound of a shutter though. It was disorienting to be on the receiving end of her camera, and she blinked while Chloe flicked her wrist, the film flapping in the air.

"Revenge is sweet, Maxo." She said, winking.

"I hope I wasn't making a face." Was all Max replied. Returning to her pizza with a small smile still in place. Chloe left the developing photo on the table, getting back to work as well. As usual, there were no scraps, but there were two very full girls. It was a miracle Chloe managed to roll herself out of bed and into a shower.

A minute or so into listening to the water rushing through the pipes, Max forced herself to her feet, retrieving her own photo of Chloe on the balcony from the table. She placed it next to Chloe's picture of her, which had developed as well. They were both really good pictures, she thought. Even though she didn't really have an opinion on her own visage, the photo captured her emotion very well. It felt as happy as she had in that moment.

Chloe was never long in the shower, and sure enough she was rooting around for clothes in only a few minutes. After a while, and a few curses, she sheepishly peeked her head over the edge of the bed.

"Max, can I borrow a shirt? All of mine are pretty gross. We should do laundry." She decided, pouting her lips as if she needed to convince Max to share her belongings.

"Yeah, anything you like. The black one is clean." The brunette suggested, bopping Chloe's head, which was sopping wet from the shower. "You should really dry your hair a bit before you come out." She chastised.

"Alright, mom." Chloe mocked, shaking her head in the likeness of a dog and carelessly spraying water everywhere. Max squealed, scrambling over to the other side of the bed to hopefully be out of range in the future. She pulled the shirt on, then jumped up onto the bed, making sure to shake a little more water in Max's direction before sitting cross-legged.

"Now I need to go towel off." Max said dryly. Chloe rolled her eyes, gesturing for the photos. Max handed them over, watching as Chloe looked them over.

"These are nice shots. We should get you a portfolio. Er… That might be too much to carry around. Mmm…" She trailed, tucking the polaroids into Max hand again. Then "What do you want to do?"

It was the first time Chloe had really asked her for an opinion on what they ought to do. And even though they probably would have wound up watching television whether Max had suggested or not, being asked was kind of nice.

Chloe put on cartoons, since she knew Max had a fondness for them. They were simple and colorful, and didn't really require a watching order. They were also easy to nod off to, as Max found out a few episodes in. One minute she was answering one of Chloe's questions, and the next she was waking up to the bleary yellow sunlight of mid-morning.

It was a bit bizzare, for they usually got up pretty early, when the world was still trying to get free of the misty grey of dissipating night. Chloe was an early riser. Apparently that was still the case, for she wasn't in her normal place when Max rolled over in bed to check.

The brunette sat up, listening for noise in the bathroom, or out on the balcony. But there was no one outside, and the door to the bathroom was ajar and the light out. Panic began to rise as she found the room glaringly void of anyone but herself.

Chloe's things were still sprawled out on the floor, so she at least planned to come back.

_Or didn't plan to leave-_

This time her inner thoughts sounded like Jefferson, snide and cruel. She couldn't think like that, though. Why on earth would anyone have taken Chloe and not her? No. She must have left of her own accord. But then, where? And why did she go without Max, without telling her?

She found herself to be pacing, but didn't bother to stop, doing laps of the room to deal with the nervous energy bubbling in Chloe's absence. She didn't stop till the lock clicked, and Chloe swung the door open.

The girl didn't seem surprised to see Max up and about, though she did quirk a brow at the state she was in.

"Were you pacing? Put some clothes on, dude. Or close the blinds at least, you're probably giving the whole street a show. And trust me, they're not gonna pay you." She chuckled, tossing a bag at the bed before shedding out of her layers of clothing.

Max located some pants, then sat down on the bed and sighed. She ran her hands through her hair a few times, tidying it and calming herself down in one movement.

"S-sorry, I overreacted." She admitted. "I was freaking out a little cause you were gone. Sorry."

Chloe sighed as well, patting her arm.

"I don't really know if it's an overreaction, dude. You _are_ kinda on the run from the government. I'll leave a note next time. But I went to get you a present, so you couldn't come with me, and I knew it would be hard to get you to stay here without being sneaky." This piqued Max's interest, and she eyed the bag with renewed interest. Chloe didn't miss it, and nodded her permission.

Inside the bag she found a nicely bound book, which she found to be blank.

"It's a journal, but you can use it for whatever. I thought that might be a good idea for you. You can put your pictures in there too. There's a little craft kit in there. It's got some pens, and markers, and glue and stuff." Chloe explained, looking distinctly anywhere but at Max as a smile found her lips.

"Wowser, Chloe. Thank you." She said, glancing down at the journal again and letting the smile grow big. Her earnestness had Chloe in an embarrassed fluster, but Max felt a bit like she was glowing. What a thoughtful gift she'd received.

"Yeah, dude. Whatever. Anytime."

Max only smiled harder, setting the journal aside to initiate a hug. It was an affection she had a hard time timing; Most of her attempts occurred at the wrong moment entirely, and left Chloe entirely too awkward and uncomfortable. But this one was right, she was sure.

She felt one of Chloe's hands rub her back for a moment before they parted, confirmation that she'd gotten it right. Chloe still looked pretty awkward and red, but she also seemed kind of pleased under it all. Maybe she really was proud of herself.

"You'll have to break it in later, though. We're going to the beach!" She announced, hopping back off the bed. Max blinked, confusion coloring her expression. "I mean, it's a lake, but it's salty!" Chloe added, as if to explain.

"Chloe, it's… Cold." Max pointed out.

"Sure is! Let's get a move on-" Chloe urged, tossing a jacket over her shoulder. Max caught it and hauled it on.

"You're insane." She decided. But then, she was already going along with it. She let Chloe bundle her up in her coat, and followed her down to the truck. She even got talked out of her shoes when they finally managed to find a place that wasn't illegal to park. The sand was not at all warm like Chloe had promised, and felt more like walking on grains of ice.

But walking along the frigid, damp line of the shore, elbows hooked between them… She wished she'd brought her camera. They'd probably make quite the picture. It was mostly deserted, which was reasonable, considering the temperature. But it made it seem sort of like they were still alone in the world, even in the big city.

She was starting to think she wouldn't really mind it. She could get by with just Chloe.

Something gave her the distinct feeling that the feeling wasn't mutual, though. Chloe obviously cared a lot about Rachel Amber, even still. And she had her mother, possibly a father. Probably friends, too. She was Max's whole world, at the moment, but her own was far more vast.

Maybe that was alright, though. Max would have to content herself in the knowledge that Chloe was with her, at least for the time being. They were walking down the beach together, staring across the lake and watching the people that flew down the bike paths, or ran along the trail.

"I can't feel my toes." She shared. Chloe laughed, but didn't argue, turning them around and heading back for the truck.

"Dude, I haven't been able to feel mine for a good ten minutes."

Max rolled her eyes, pushing a bit closer as the wind picked up, sending a shiver up her back.

"This was your idea." She reminded.

"Yup. No regrets. We'll have to defrost in the bath. We still need to do laundry, too." Chloe urged, picking up the pace. Max felt a bit like she was gliding, as Chloe's long legs had her going faster than she could keep up with. But the girl kept her steady, so instead of stumbling she practically skipped.

It brought back a fuzzy memory of walking between her parents when she was very young, before she'd known about her powers. With a hand in either of her parents', she was able to hop along, practically suspended between them. It was a warm memory, but tinged with her mourning. It left her unable to smile, despite how nice it felt.

Chloe slowed down, slipping her arm out of Max's and slinging it across her shoulders instead.

"Hey, you alright?" She asked, pulling the other girl against her side as she kept walking. It was warmer that way. Max nodded.

"Sorry, yeah. I was just remembering something kind of… Melancholy." She explained, looping her arm around Chloe's middle. It worked perfectly with Chloe's height.

"I'm sorry, man. Wanna talk about it?" The taller girl inquired, squeezing her shoulder softly.

"Um… Not right now." Max decided. The moment was too nice for her to bring up something so terrible. She'd probably cry if she talked about her parents, then Chloe would worry, and why ruin their good mood? It could wait. "Later though. I promise." She added to halt the hurt look that was coming over Chloe's face.

"Alright." The other girl agreed, knocking their heads together gently.

Once they were back in the room, Chloe drew a hot bath while Max got their clothes together. It felt like pins and needles when she lowered her feet into the steaming water, but it felt heavenly once they'd thawed properly. Chloe giggled as Max leaned over to lay against her side.

"No rest for the wicked, Max and Cheese. We gotta do laundry." She pointed out.

"I mean, we don't _have_ to…" Max mumbled, wiggling her toes in the water.

"Max, we gotta."

The brunette sighed, hoisting her feet out and baring them to the chill air yet again. Chloe passed her a towel and they both dried off their feet before heading down to the laundry room. It was empty, so they didn't bother to keep quiet while they dumped their clothes in to wash.

As the washer cycled, Max got to work putting her new journal together while Chloe smoked on the balcony. Doing as Chloe suggested, she began gluing her photos in, a couple to a page. She shook it upside down when she'd finished, pleased that nothing fell out when she did.

But with that done, she was left to occupy herself yet again. Chloe faced a similar issue, as she returned from her smoke. Apparently not feeling very creative, she flopped down on the bed. Her hair fanned out to frame her face in glowing blue. She looked pale against the sheets, but no less beautiful.

Instead of snapping a photo, per her norm, Max instead grabbed a pencil out of the craft kit and began sketching a picture of the scene in her journal. Chloe seemed to catch on to what Max was up to, for she remained still until Max came over to show her the finished product. She sat up on her elbows to look it over while Max planted herself on the mattress as well.

"Not bad, Max. Artist and photographer, huh? Let me guess, you play an instrument too? Or maybe you sing…" Chloe joked. Max didn't know why it was supposedly funny, but she could tell Chloe was poking fun.

"I play the guitar." She admitted. Chloe stared at her for a moment, then laughed to herself.

"A real prodigy. Can I have this?" She requested, pointing to the drawing. Max contemplated this for a while; She'd spent a good chunk of time on it, and it was actually pretty alright. But if Chloe wanted it, then it was hers. She nodded.

Chloe grinned, pleased, and carefully tore it out along the perforated edge. She handed the book back, then leaned over to long-arm for her bag, from which she withdrew a novel that Max had never seen her read. When she flipped a few pages, the brunette caught tiny glimpses of pressed flowers and worn out photos. About halfway through, Chloe stopped and her eyes traced a few lines of text. Then she tucked the drawing between the two pages and closed the book, returning it to her bag as if it had never happened.

"We should go check the laundry. Probably about time to switch the loads." She suggested, signaling that her book was not going to be a topic of conversation. Not _yet,_ anyway.

The washer was nearly done when they went down, so they waited in the plastic chairs, leaning against each other for support. Chloe dutifully got up to switch the clothes when they finished, then led the way back up to the room to wait that out as well.

"Let's start packing up. The clothes should be done in time for checkout."

Max was woe to part with the bed, but did as she was told, gathering their few belongings and helping Chloe load them back into the truck. On the way up, the taller girl acquired some paper bowls and they made packets of oatmeal in the microwave to tide them over till they were on the road again.

It also ate up some time, and they were soon folding clothes and checking out. In what felt like a flash, they'd left Chicago behind in favor of heading east again. The landscapes no longer boasted endless fields of fall crops, but rolling hills and distant mountains, as well as frequent peeks of lakes.

Chloe pointed a few things out as they went, but was otherwise mostly quiet. Max was starting to think it was because they were getting closer. Maybe being so near to her goal was making her thoughts buzz, her body thrumming with a numbing sort of excitement.

But the silence became deafening after hours of it, and she couldn't help but start a conversation. She'd promised to bring it up later, anyway. Might as well get it over with.

"Earlier, when you asked if I was alright-" She prompted, waiting till Chloe was on the same page before continuing. "I was just reminded of my parents."

Chloe contemplated this for a while, surely trying to imagine all the things that Max could mean by that. She wasn't stupid, though. If Chloe had proven anything, it was that she was far more intelligent than she liked to let people think.

"They're, um…" She trailed, her face already sympathetic. Max nodded grimly, already feeling her eyes prickling with the coming of tears. Admitting it out loud made it hurt that much more, and soon she couldn't help but pull her legs up onto the seat so she could bury her face in her knees.

Chloe's hand on her shoulder wasn't very warm, as per usual, but comforting nonetheless. Max didn't look up, but she appreciated the anchoring point, and she reached up to cover it with one of her own for just a moment, squeezing the other girl's thin fingers before letting her have them back to drive.

"I'm sorry." Chloe offered softly, after a moment. "Do you, uh, wanna pull over for a sec? Hug it out?" She suggested. Max didn't know what that meant, but Chloe was already pulling over, so she didn't argue. It probably involved hugging, whatever it was.

Sure enough, Chloe put the truck in park then wrapped Max up tightly in her arms, holding on until the brunette gave up on hiding in her own legs and uncurled long enough to return the hug. She was probably crushing Chloe's lungs, with how hard she held on, but it felt like the girl was the only thing that could keep her from completely breaking down into sobs.

Chloe didn't mention it, squeezing just as tight until Max could relax a little. She didn't start driving again till Max had calmed down and was working on cleaning her face up. In spite of her nature, she didn't say anything or crack any jokes about the sniffles that just wouldn't seem to stop.

After another drawn out silence, Chloe let out a small sigh.

"My mom drives me crazy." She admitted. Max glanced over, the first time she'd looked Chloe's direction since she'd stopped crying. Honestly, she felt embarrassed. But it seemed it had already been forgotten. "She nags a lot, and worries too much, and she married an asshole even though I told her not to. Cheap, too." She continued.

Max thought it a strange way to respond. Insensitive, even, if she really considered it. How could Chloe sit and complain about her own parents knowing that Max could never have that again? Was she being cruel on purpose?

"…But like… I wouldn't give her up for anything." She said, her words quick, as if she didn't really want them to be understood. That was clearly the case, for her cheeks dusted red as she spoke.

Max managed a small smile. Chloe's mom was probably a really alright lady, despite her daughter's description.

"She'd probably adore you. She loves to feed people, and you're exactly her type; Tiny, with a bottomless stomach." Chloe joked, grinning as well. She seemed relieved that her attempt at lightening up the mood had worked.

"Sounds like she'd be my type too." Max agreed. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Mom always said the way to a man's heart was his stomach, but who thought it'd apply to skinny military fugitives, too?"

Max giggled. It was almost bizzare, to laugh at a joke made at the expense of her miserable experience. After having a taste of normalcy, though, her past life seemed almost a dream. It was hard to imagine anything but the truck, motels, highways, fast food, and Chloe.

"Your mom must be really great." She guessed.

"People always say that. You can decide for yourself, if you want. I'm sure she'd love to meet you after all this." Chloe offered

It was the end of the conversation, which was for the best, because Max suddenly had a whole lot to think about.

Chloe had implied an 'after all this.' It was vague, but there. She failed to recognize the holes in her loose suggestion, though; If they were going to New York to find Rachel Amber, surely she didn't plan on leaving without her. The truck wasn't exactly fit for more than two people. Two was pushing it, even. When it came down to it, it was going to have to be Max or Rachel. And Max had a feeling that she knew where she stood better than Chloe did.

But why say something like that without intention? Chloe was impulsive, but not dishonest or frivolous. She meant the things she said, and kept promises. So she really wanted Max to come back with her? Was she doing the math in her head, as Max was? Or was she blinded by excitement?

Max thought it unwise to bring it up. She settled instead for basking in the lighthearted atmosphere they'd managed. Chloe was singing to the radio, and she didn't stop, even when Max failed to 'sneak' a photo. She looked over when she heard the shutter, but instead of clamming up and getting flustered like she usually did, she just grinned and sang louder.

It caused a fluttering sensation to grow from Max's toes up, and without even realizing it she was smiling too. It made 'after all this' not so important. Even if there wound up never being an 'after all this,' at least she'd have 'that time with Chloe, singing in the truck.' The proof was developing between her fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Six chapters already? I feel like this one is going really fast, but that's not a bad thing, I suppose. It probably feels like it's slowed down to you guys, since I've been so busy with work and ferret hospice care. But I had some time between jobs, so here we go~!
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who's been leaving feedback, I've really started to look forward to hearing from you guys. It makes my hellish schedule a bit more bearable. My free time is getting even shorter as Planet ComiCon nears and I find myself scrambling to get my costume done. New Year, same work ethic. Give a shout if you're going!
> 
> And I keep forgetting, but if any of you are tumblr people, I'm KuroRiya over there too. I have a pretty garbage blog, but I check tags related to me and my stories a little too frequently, so I figured I'd make it available.
> 
> Alright, off I go. Thanks again for reading. Laters~
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


	7. Chapter 7

They made it through Indiana, and were well into Ohio when Chloe insisted that they stop for the night. It was kind of bizarre, for they usually drove well into the night before turning in for the day. But the sun had only gone down a bit earlier. The radio displayed the time, confirming that it was only barely after eight in the evening.

But Chloe made the decision when to stop, considering she was the only one who could drive, so Max didn't argue. They stopped to get some food and use the bathroom, then drove till they found a good place to park for the night. Funds were running low again thanks to their recent lack of impulse control. And while it would be simple enough to get more, Max wasn't feeling up to using her power.

The day had been emotionally taxing for the both of them, in one way or another, and the mere thought of using the rewind, multiple times at that, had her head hurting. Chloe didn't even bother to mention it.

She instead busied herself with getting the blankets from the back of the truck. Max worked on gathering up the clutter from the seats, handing it out to Chloe to be thrown away. It was practiced and efficient at that point, and they were soon settling into their respective spots on the seat bench.

It being much earlier than usual, Max found herself awake even after what felt like a small eternity with her eyes closed. No matter how hard she tried to clear her mind of thought, Chloe's breathing or slight movements would snap her back to full consciousness.

"Can't sleep?" The girl herself wondered, her voice seeming loud after the silence. Max let out a breath, shuffling carefully so she could turn to face Chloe. Being so close all of a sudden sort of made her heart stutter strangely, but it was more comfortable than it might have been.

"It's kind of early." She confirmed, looking into the blue of Chloe's eyes. It was somehow less awkward this way.

"Yeah." Chloe agreed sheepishly. "My bad. I just… I dunno. Wasn't feelin' it anymore." She offered.

Max smiled, finally looking away to glance at the back of the cab instead, where Chloe had scribbled with a bold marker. Max didn't recognize the symbols, but the words written were less than optimistic. Someday she'd get ahold of a marker and draw something happy.

"That's alright. Today was kinda weird. Good though, I think." She assured, finding the other girl's gaze again. Chloe grinned.

"Fuck yeah! We totally bonded today, sista." She claimed, teeth showing. Max chuckled, nodding her assent.

Absently, she reached to pull Chloe's beanie off her head. The girl had a bad habit of sleeping in it and crushing all of her pretty hair to her skull semi-permanently. The only way to reset the damage was to take a shower, which wasn't always possible. Max made it a secret mission to save her companion from this fate.

She disposed of the hat, then ran her fingers through the hair underneath to breathe some life back into it. Chloe closed her eyes while she did this, only opening them again after she'd finished. She just stared back for a while.

When the taller girl started to sit up, Max followed suit, and Chloe gestured to the bed of the truck instead. With the blankets in tow, they climbed in, and set up camp. It was cold, but when they snuggled down into the blanket together it was bearable.

Chloe fished her phone out and convinced it to play some music after cursing at it for a bit. Instead of her normal uppity punk or angry rock, she went for acoustic songs, setting a playlist and abandoning the cellular on top of the comforter to play of its own accord.

Max hummed along quietly, watching the stars for a while, losing herself in the cosmos again, as she was prone to doing the nights that they spent in the truck. She was aware on some level of Chloe's fingers idly tracing patterns along her arm, and of her heartbeat that was so near to Max's ear. But her mind was lost in just how endless everything was.

"Do you wanna go for a walk?"

The abruptness of it startled Max, but she was already getting up only seconds later, dismissing her contemplation. Chloe's spontaneity, while sometimes alarming, was somehow endlessly charming, in Max's opinion. It didn't matter that it felt like her fingers were frosting over the second she stepped foot outside the cocoon they'd made. It didn't matter that there wasn't really much scenery to see in the dark. It didn't matter that she could see her breath almost as starkly as she could see the smoke from Chloe's cigarette.

Chloe's hand felt like icicles, but it was held snugly in hers, so that didn't matter either.

Max scanned the trees and ground for something to keep her interest. Chloe smoked so languidly it was almost regal. She looked at the sky again, so Max did too. It was far more interesting than the ground, anyway. They'd parked far enough out of the way that the stars were bright, and the sky was crisp and clear.

Starved of the sky for so long, she drank in the twinkling stars and vastness with a certain breathlessness every time. Only her own exhaled breath obscured the view, but the wind stole it away in moments. Chloe lit another cigarette, wordlessly urging them forward. They came to a stop at a pinnacle, a few yards away from the drop off. It gave a view of part of a city, as well as a distant inky blackness that must have been a body of water.

"That's probably Lake Erie. I don't really know. If it is, Canada's just on the other side." Chloe offered, stamping out her cigarette before bending to pick it up and pocket the butt. She always did this. So birds wouldn't eat them.

"That's where we're running away to, right?" Max recalled, smiling. Chloe seemed surprised she remembered, then thoughtful.

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea." She agreed. She was smiling, but her voice didn't sound like it usually did when she was joking. Max wasn't sure if she should laugh.

"But, uh, only if the government finds us." She added weakly, chancing a chuckle. Chloe didn't really react, her expression neutral.

"I guess. We could go anyway. Canada's pretty."

Silence fell as Max tried to decode what that might mean. Now? After? Was she joking after all? It sounded too sincere to be a joke, though. She glanced at Chloe, seeing her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She must have been thinking hard about something.

"Look, Max; I like this… thing we've got going on. I don't know what to call it, but we just sort of… Work. I can't even explain, but it's sort of like I've known you forever. I know that sounds lame, dude. I know we only met a few weeks ago." She winced, biting her lip. "I've never really felt so comfortable around someone else. I'm usually always worrying about stupid shit and overthinking things, and it really takes it out of me to be around people. I get irritated, and mean, and I wind up pushing people away."

Max considered this new information. She'd had a suspicion that Chloe put on something of an act, even for herself. She liked to talk a big game, but her confidence was actually very fragile. Max couldn't talk; While she didn't really have any self-esteem issues, she also wasn't particularly confident. Maybe her neutrality came from the years away from society. Maybe it was just her personality.

"I think that's part of the reason that Rachel left the way she did. To be honest, I probably started to irritate her with my internalized self-hatred and shit. I wanted her attention all the time, wanted her to love me, but all I could talk about around her was how much I suck. Well, me and everyone else." She sighed, scrubbing a hand over her face.

"Sorry, tangent. Look, bottom line, even though I love Rachel, I'm still constantly worried about making sure she likes me. And it's not that I don't care what you think of me. But like… I don't know. The way you look at me sometimes it seems like you think I'm the coolest thing in the world."

Her cheeks were red, more so than the cold would cause. Max felt herself blushing too, caught red-handed in her feelings for Chloe.

"But mostly, it's like I'm hanging with my best friend all the time." She finally concluded, glancing over with a crooked grin. Max mirrored the expression, squeezing the icy fingers that she was still clutching. Chloe's hair got swept up in the breeze, since Max had taken her hat off, and it whipped around her face wildly. The smaller girl got caught up in watching it.

Too caught up. She was caught off guard when Chloe was suddenly very close. Her misty breath was blinding as it mingled with Max's, which began to come out rather erratically, admittedly. The proximity had her thinking, yet again, that Chloe was going to kiss her. There was no smoke to be shared, though.

She wasn't left to think about it too long, breath taken away as Chloe lurched forward after a second of hesitation and pressed their lips together. It was brief, but she still couldn't remember how to breathe properly for seconds on end.

Chloe was busy panicking, hands wringing together when they weren't running through her hair, stringing together every curse she knew as she paced back and forth across about six feet. Max watched her breathlessly, torn between consoling her and watching this nervous, honest side of Chloe that she didn't show very often.

"I-I'm sorry Max. I do stupid shit like that when I get nervous, and I-"

Max frowned, reaching out and anchoring Chloe to the spot with a hand fisted in her jacket. She finally managed to catch her eye, trying to calm her anxiety by pouring her feelings into her gaze instead of trying to blabber them as words.

"Don't be sorry." She mumbled, squeezing the fabric tightly. She dropped her gaze to the ground, the words breaking through her emboldened state and leaving her feeling shy. Chloe had kissed her! "Wowser."

Chloe snorted, finally moving from where she'd been frozen like a deer. Maybe it hadn't been the best thing to say, but at least it had gotten Chloe feeling a bit better. She had managed a tiny smile, at least.

"Where did you even learn that, you nerd? I thought you grew up under a rock. Did you make it up?" She asked. Max smiled, giggling a little as well.

"I think I heard it on a cartoon I watched in the hospital, before they started really locking me down. I guess it just stuck." She explained, glad that Chloe was back to her usual self, but antsy to discuss the situation. They needed to talk about this. It couldn't wait.

"Dork." Chloe murmured. As usual, it was more affectionate than derogatory as she wrapped Max in her arms and rocked them a bit. Max could feel the girl's nose against her neck, sending a shiver down her back as Chloe sought to shield herself from the cold.

"…Sorry." She said again, her sigh warm against Max's skin. "For, uh, for panicking. And saying sorry. I guess that _is_ a shitty thing to say after you kiss someone. I just… I never know what you're thinking. I mean, sometimes it's _really_ obvious. Sometimes it's like we've got the same brain. But other times, I just pull a blank. I don't really know how to even talk to you about this, because you're just so…"

Chloe made a frustrated noise as her words failed her. Max tried in vain to comprehend.

"Like right now! I don't know what you're thinking! I don't know if you're freaking out, if you think I'm fucking insane, if you hate me…"

She had taken up pacing again, and Max's throat felt dry. She knew she ought to say something. Chloe needed to be comforted. But Max didn't know if she had words to explain her feelings. She'd never felt quite the same before. And she'd never thought about how she would tell Chloe, how she could verbalize the ache she felt around the girl.

Stopping short mid-pace, Chloe looked at her. Her expression was bordering on sad, maybe desperate even. It didn't suit her, but she still looked like a picture. Tragic beauty.

"Look, I… I don't really know what the fuck I'm doing, alright? I probably shouldn't have kissed you. I mean, we're only even here together because I'm looking for Rachel. Fuck. I'm just so god damn impulsive all the time. And I'm really confused." She admitted, her shoulders curling in towards her center.

"Rachel is… She's so important to me. I mean, I've been in love with her for so long. But-" She sucked in a breath, and it was a little shaky. But she pressed forward. "But even though I know I shouldn't, I really wanted to kiss you. I still do. I know we haven't been together very long, but you're already so fucking important to me."

It made Max's pulse soar, to hear Chloe say that. To finally know where she stood in regards to Rachel Amber. To know that, maybe, she mattered almost as much to Chloe as the other girl meant to her.

"Max, please, say something." Chloe urged, biting her between her teeth. "Or I'm going to keep saying stupid shit. Please."

After a moment of thought:

"Let's go back, it's cold." Max suggested, smiling softly. Chloe seemed confused, brows knit as she sought answers to silent questions. Max gave her hand a squeeze, smiling a little harder, hoping she'd understand. She almost definitely didn't, but they'd get there, eventually.

They walked back silently. It was obvious, from the buzzing, anxious energy that radiated from her, that Chloe still wasn't sure where they stood. The scenery change felt necessary, though. Not only to get out of the frigid wind, but also to hopefully leave the awkwardness behind. The truck felt cozy, the familiarity a comfort after the foreign landscape.

Chloe glanced at her once they'd settled in on their respective sides with the blankets smushed in with them. She opted to turn the engine on for just a bit to warm up, and the sound of the air whooshing through the vents filled the silence. For Chloe, it felt heavy. Max felt lighter than air for once.

She hoped she could get Chloe there, too.

It was kind of hard to get the angle right while avoiding the clutch and Chloe's boney shoulder, but she kissed her with all the confidence she could muster. That would make them even.

"I'm sorry for confusing you. I don't try to, if that makes you feel any better." She offered sheepishly. "And, um, I'd be okay with it if you kissed me. If you want to." She added.

Chloe laughed at last, bumping their foreheads together softly.

"Oh yeah?" She inquired sarcastically, eyes reflecting Max's own dim reflection. For the first time, Max found herself sort of pretty.

As per her usual, she couldn't help but snap a photo. The camera had been resting under the seat, and her hand had grown accustomed to reaching under for it. Chloe didn't even have time to react as she quickly lined the two of them up and took the shot blindly, so they could both be in it.

Chloe didn't say anything as Max tucked the camera and the new photo under the seat to be dealt with in the morning. Maybe she'd given up on joking about Max only taking pictures of her. Probably because it wasn't a joke anymore.

After she'd put the camera away and settled back into her seat, Chloe motioned for her to lay down. It was later, now that they'd spent so much time walking, and though giddiness had left her feeling high, she could also sense some exhaustion creeping into her limbs and eyes. So it was without argument that she did as the other girl suggested, waiting for Chloe to turn off the engine and get comfortable before laying all the way down.

They both worked to tug the blankets up and pile them on to keep warm. Nose to nose, Chloe snaked an arm between the fabric and Max's side, letting it drape there. Though they'd declared it bedtime, they both sat awake for minutes that stretched on to feel much longer, just staring at each other. Looking into Chloe's eyes like that for so long felt almost as engaging as a conversation. Maybe more so, in a way.

Finally Chloe shifted, kissing Max's forehead before guiding it closer to her chest, using her arm to close the space between them. She let out one last sigh before going entirely limp, and in a few minutes she'd fallen asleep. It made Max smile, slowly wrapping her arms around the girl's waist so that she had something to hold onto, too.

She still wasn't very warm, but Max's heat would seep out through the night enough for the both of them. The girl's fingers were especially chilly, even through the fabric of her shirt, but it wasn't too bothersome, in the grand scheme of things. She'd take thin, frosty fingers tangled in her shirt over prodding scientists any day.

Resolved to sleep before she could notice the chill properly, she cleared out her mind.

-.-.-+-.-.-

When she woke again, Chloe was already driving, Max's head in her lap. How she'd managed to sleep through the other girl getting up, she didn't know. It was fine, though. Just this once.

"I can see right up your nose." She announced.

Chloe blinked, then glanced down at her and cracked a grin.

"That's the thanks I get for being nice and letting you use my lap as a pillow?" She demanded, but made no move to correct the position. Max snickered, sitting up nonetheless, and scooted over into her own seat.

"You should have woken me up." She insisted, nodding at Chloe's silent question of whether or not they should stop at McDonald's for breakfast. She could tell that the girl was asking by the way she gestured to it.

"You're really cute when you're conked out." Chloe retorted, shrugging as if she didn't need to offer any other explanation. She continued, regardless. "When you're awake, you always look vaguely troubled. It's nice to see you relaxed."

Max blushed with the revelation that Chloe liked to watch her sleep. Though, considering what Chloe had said and done last night, she supposed it shouldn't be too surprising anymore.

That was still sort of unknown territory for Max. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to kiss Chloe again already, or at all, but she wanted to. The air seemed a bit strange though. Sharp, a little treacherous. She wasn't sure if that was just her being afraid, or if there really was an awkwardness between them.

She'd just have to let Chloe sort it out. There was only so much she could do with her very limited social skills.

They decided to go inside, eager to use the bathroom and stretch after the night under the stars. And it was subtle, but Chloe sat on the same side of the booth as Max. Small, but not insignificant. The invasion of personal space meant more than they probably let on to passerby.

Max settled into the space against Chloe's ribs, the girl's left arm thrown over the back of the seat to accommodate the sharing of space. It was cozy, like it should have been happening all along. Why else would they fit so perfectly?

"You look like you're taking those hash browns really seriously." Chloe chuckled, sipping at an orange juice.

"I am." Max responded severely, not missing a beat. Her sense of humor was beginning to skew very suddenly in Chloe's likeness. There wasn't much to be done about it.

The girl herself snorted a giggle, shaking her head. She offered Max the juice then got up to ditch the trash. After finishing the OJ off, the brunette followed her out and they were on the road yet again.

The drive seemed sort of slow, but it was actually just Chloe going the speed limit for the first time since they'd met. It didn't go unnoticed, but still, Max hesitated to say anything about it. Maybe she was just getting tired. The lifestyle they were keeping wasn't exactly the easiest. She could probably use a few nights at home to recoup.

But they were close now. They neared the finish line with each mile, it was in sight. There was no way they were turning back, not anymore.

Max glanced over as Chloe's hand folded over hers. The girl wasn't looking at her, in favor of the road, but her cheeks were a little pink. It was endearing, and Max didn't think twice about flipping her hand to lace their fingers together.

Scenery passed by in a blur that denoted hours passing with their hands still tightly knit between them, only parted on the rare occasion that Chloe had to shift gears. They briefly passed through Pennsylvania, where they stopped for lunch, and then the signs for New York became frequent. Max could feel the nearness of the end approaching, but was powerless to stop it as the signs melted from her view in the car's mirrors.

Chloe seemed to get more and more tense the further they went, and Max wondered if it was from nerves, or if she was feeling the same sense of impending conclusion. But what she'd once thought of as anxiety about seeing Rachel was perhaps better classified as anxiety of seeing Rachel _and having all of this come to an end._

A few wrong turns had them looping around some country homes, and Chloe just kept getting turned around. Only after they'd been crisscrossing the area for a couple hours did Max realize that Chloe was _stalling._

They ditched the truck in the driveway of a generous couple outside of the city, opting to rely on their own feet and public transportation, rather than bother with the seemingly unmoving traffic. They didn't wander very far in before Chloe suggested they find a place to call it a night. The sun was barely down, and it was the perfect time to ask around bars if they'd seen Rachel, but Max didn't argue. Just like she hadn't mentioned the stalling earlier.

They laid in a hotel bed, the alarm clock radio on quietly for the noise. It was too early to sleep, but neither of them could admit it without risking blowing Chloe's cover. Why Max was playing along, she didn't know. Chloe had to know she knew. But something about admitting it out loud changed things. At least they were pretending, for now.

Chloe lifted one of Max's arms so she could wriggle up and lay her head on her stomach. Max smiled, carding her fingers through the blue locks like she'd thought about doing many times before. It was different than when she pulled off the beanie. It was lingering, special.

She felt Chloe's bones melt as she began scratching lightly at her scalp, nails barely there. Committing the soft-spot to memory, she indulged Chloe's desire for scritches, fingers on autopilot after a few minutes.

Should she bring it up? All the unasked questions about where they were going and what they planned to do? What they were to each other, and where they stood? About Rachel? It was all unknown to her, and maybe to Chloe. But was it really her place to bring it up? They probably hadn't talked about it yet for a reason.

Chloe was above her when she opened her eyes again, drawn away from her thoughts by the motion. She met the girl's electric blue stare until her eyes closed and they kissed. It took her by surprise, as all of their few kisses had in one way or another, but she quickly eased into it, holding Chloe close to her.

_While you still can._

Jefferson's tone, this time, making her blood run a bit cold for a moment before she remembered that it was just her own scathing thoughts. It was always _his_ voice that reminded her of her reality. She wished she could forget that clinical sneer of his, but it lingered at the back of her mind.

It kept her on the run.

Chloe made a little noise into her mouth that had her head spinning, and her fingers twisted into the back of the girl's shirt, clinging as if she was going to fall if she didn't hold on. It sort of felt that way. She wasn't quite sure which direction was up, and it felt like she was floating, but it didn't matter, because she knew Chloe wouldn't let her fall into the sky.

The girl had a smile on her face when she pulled back, and Max was breathless. She wanted a picture, but her bag was too far away to reach. She fluttered her lashes like a shutter, taking a picture with her mind instead. Copying every detail; The faint reflection of herself in Chloe's eyes, flushed and framed in fanned-out auburn hair. The dark circles like faint bruises under Chloe's eyes, contrasting the life that sparkled in the color of her irises. Her hair was almost the same color as her eyes in the hotel lighting where it fell in her face, but her roots had grown out substantially to show her natural blonde.

Max ran her fingers through it again. It was still soft even after all of the abuse it'd been through. Chloe made that same quiet sound, collapsing on her side and giving herself over to the attention again.

"We should shower." She mumbled faintly, without any sort of conviction. Max smiled, sitting up and releasing her hold over the other girl so they could comply. Chloe seemed a little bummed about the loss of contact, but kept it to herself.

Chloe never hesitated to get naked, and she made no exception this time, starting the water before quickly ridding herself of her wrinkled clothes. Maybe she enjoyed it? Max couldn't match her pace, but she wasn't far behind. The other girl was already dripping with water, but she still looked pretty with her hair slicked back and lashes clumped together. She offered a crooked smile before opening her arms and trapping Max's back against her chest.

Max's skin felt on fire where Chloe pressed against her, holding her tightly while the water washed over them. She'd never had that sort of closeness with anyone, and she wasn't really sure what to do with her hands. Eventually she settled for draping them over Chloe's against her own stomach, letting her head loll back a bit to rest on the other girl's shoulder.

She felt Chloe's nose against the side of her neck, and turned her head that way to catch a brief glance at Chloe's eyes. Chloe stared back, and she wasn't smiling, but the emotions dancing with the sparkle of her eyes weren't negative. It was how Max probably looked too. She only wished that Chloe could promise this forever. That she didn't have to wonder if it would be Rachel Amber in her position in a week or so.

The other girl vanished from her mind when Chloe pressed a quick kiss to her jaw. For now, she'd take what kisses she could get. They might not be a sustainable resource.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this took forever for me to get up, and I'm sorry for that. I went on a temporary hiatus for a few reasons: I went through and edited all of the chapters thus far. Mostly just spelling and grammar errors, and maybe a sentence here and there. It's not anything big enough that you would need to reread if you didn't want to. It's just a little bit smoother now.
> 
> I've also gotten an editor of sorts, and I had to give her time to not only catch up, but get and beat the game. She put in a lot of effort to be the editor, and she's already helped me with this chapter, in particular, a lot. She'll be checking over each chapter before I post now.
> 
> There was also a some back and forth on the content of this chapter, and I wound up rewriting a huge portion of it, and then that had to be edited again… You can see where I'm going with this.
> 
> The moral of the story is that I'm off hiatus now, the story is back on and hopefully better than before, and updates she return to pretty much the same interval as before. I do apologize for the wait, and thanks to anyone who stuck it out and waited!
> 
> I hope I can look forward to some feedback, even if it's just complaints. But either way, thanks for reading!
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


	8. Chapter 8

They spent the day walking through the city hand in hand, caught somewhere between sightseeing and looking for Rachel. Chloe took her to see the Empire State Building, then the Statue of Liberty. They took Broadway, marquees and colorful banners for shows taking up almost all of the visible space.

No matter where they went, people swarmed all around them. Traffic was constantly backed up, the beeping of horns and rattling of engines ceaseless. Max didn't think she could live somewhere like New York. It was too noisy and too crowded. But she could appreciate the anonymity, the safety in numbers.

Food was also incredibly easy to find. There were vendors on the streets no matter where you went, and Max found her face full of all sorts of foods that not even the other girl could name. Chloe would occasionally stop in at places like coffee shops and any bars that were open during the day and ask if anyone had seen Rachel.

No one had, thus far. But they weren't lacking for things to do, at least. Max reasoned that searching would be more worthwhile the later it got. It wouldn't hurt to spend some time together, while they had the chance.

"You wanna stop at a café for a snack? I could use a break." Chloe admitted, rubbing the small of her back to show her pain. Max nodded, the promise of a bagel enough to convince her.

Without putting much thought into, Chloe picked a café on the next corner they passed, holding the door open with an uneven grin while Max went through, rolling her eyes. They both briefly scanned the space; Chloe looking to make sure it had a good atmosphere, and Max to make sure it had a few exits.

They both seemed to realize at the same time. The girl that had been bussing tables turned and Max had been looking at her for seconds on end when it clicked that she didn't just have 'one of those faces' and that she was _really_ staring at Rachel Amber.

Chloe sucked in a breath, frozen with her hand halfway across the space between them. She was probably about to wrap the arm around Max's waist, or her shoulders. But it was like time had stopped for her as she watched Rachel bustle around the café, unmoving.

She was as beautiful in person as she'd been in the photo, despite the obvious wear of working a day job. The sort of beauty that was unforgettable, recognizable. Max couldn't have been mistaken. But it was so bizarre to see her, living a life so normal while she and Chloe had been living so haphazardly in pursuit. Like she had no idea. Maybe she didn't. In fact, she probably didn't.

Max heard it when Chloe finally swallowed, and she tore her eyes away to look at the other girl. She wished she could understand what the expression on Chloe's face was, but it was confusing. Relief, definitely. But also an underlying sadness. And anger. Fear? So many things. What could she be thinking?

But the brunette found herself afraid to ask, afraid to so much as utter a word to Chloe.

They must have lingered in the doorway too long, for Rachel Amber finally took notice, looking up from her work and tucking some hair behind her ear in the same motion. A professional smile began on her lips, but died as her mind caught up with her eyes.

And then she and Chloe were both frozen. If she didn't know better, Max would think that she had accidentally halted time herself. But the rest of the world kept moving, only the two girls suspended in the moment they were sharing.

Max felt herself an invader, awkwardly standing at Chloe's side, too privy to their private relationship to ignore the conversation they were having with their eyes, but not privy enough to be a part of it.

Rachel's eyes hadn't moved, hadn't slid over to her for even a second to size her up. It was as if she wasn't there. She might as well not be. But some part of her feared leaving Chloe alone. Because Rachel was so beautiful, like a model in a magazine, and Chloe loved her.

Who did she love more?

Max couldn't ask, not then. Instead, she reached out and squeezed Chloe's wrist. The girl's gaze snapped to her, brows suddenly drawn in fear, or maybe she was going to cry. She didn't look sure herself. Confused. Max stood on her toes so she could speak quietly, close to Chloe's ear.

"I'm going to sit down."

Chloe didn't respond, but Max left her side anyway, lingering on her wrist before letting go fully and seating herself towards the back, next to a window. She watched Chloe, unfrozen now, approach Rachel, and they spoke briefly before they both nodded and Rachel led them elsewhere.

Rather than watch or try to snoop, Max looked out of the window. There wasn't much in the way of scenery, but there were plenty of people to watch. It was easy to zone into their separate lives, to contemplate them fleetingly rather than consider how much her life might soon change.

Rachel Amber had always been a sort of far-away concept. A goal, but never something tangible. Seeing her, alive, real, it changed everything. There was a real girl, whom Chloe was in love with, and they'd found her. Would Chloe convince her to return to Arcadia Bay? Would she be convinced to stay in New York?

Where did that leave Max? It had been hard enough before to think about a life without Chloe. Now that they'd reached this new level of intimacy, had formed this new relationship… How could she be expected to just give up? But then, how could she compete? Who would Chloe want more? Would she ask to share? Did things like that even happen?

Instead of pondering it further, Max imagined that the man crossing the street, who nearly got hit by a car, was actually a man suffering from horrible depression. She didn't particularly know why she prescribed him such a fate, but so it was. And he'd tried to get hit on purpose, she reasoned. But now that the car had missed him, his life was going to change. He was going to take it as a sign that he was meant to be there.

He was probably just late to work, and careless in his haste. He probably almost got hit by cars on a weekly basis. It was New York. But it was hurt less making up stories for other people than considering whether or not she should just slip away while Chloe and Rachel were talking. It would make it easier on Chloe. She wouldn't have to decide.

She didn't want to, though. She didn't want to be alone again.

Tears came as she thought it, tears she hadn't let herself cry no matter how bleak the situation had seemed. There was always some sureness in her mind that they wouldn't find Rachel. There were just so many places, so many people, so many things that could have happened. What were the odds that two girls dodging the government would manage to track her down with nothing more than luck, for the most part?

But they had. And she might lose Chloe. She might lose everything she had. But it was frustrating, because some part of her was happy, too. Some part of her was happy to know that Chloe had found what she was looking for. It only made her throat sting more as she gave in and let herself cry, doing what she could to keep her sobs inaudible to the other people milling through the café.

It crossed her mind for a second- She could undo all of this. If she started right now and kept rewinding till she was about to black out, she could make it so they'd never found Rachel Amber. She could suggest they go to a different café, the one across the street, even. Chloe would never have to know.

She couldn't do that, though. The thought was dismissed almost as quickly as it'd come to her. Rachel Amber meant so much to Chloe, and Chloe meant too much to Max for her to take this away from her.

All of her tears had been cried. Her eyes were already dry, but glassy and red from crying. She wasn't sure how long it had been, but it must have been quite a time if she was out of tears. What were they talking about? What were they doing?

When Chloe did reappear, she approached rapidly. After being apart for what felt like so long, it was briefly overwhelming when the girl was suddenly before her. And she didn't get a chance to even offer a greeting before Chloe had snatched up her hand and began tugging her towards the door.

Max stumbled along behind her, glancing around the café and then back at Chloe. Rachel Amber eventually appeared around a corner, looking tired and surprised. She called Chloe's name, but the girl didn't stop, stomping out of the door briskly and weaving into the foot traffic. If Rachel tried to follow, she'd have a hard time in the camouflage provided by the masses.

They'd walked several blocks at the same alarmingly quick pace before Chloe finally calmed down enough to slow her roll. And when she did, it was from sixty to zero. Instead of pushing through the crowd, they were stopped in the middle, the sea of people parting around them with annoyance.

Her blue hair obscured her face, for she looked at the ground as if it was the one worried about her and not Max. But the way her shoulders rose and fell, harshly, made it impossible for Max to be angry. Instead of trying to say something that would inevitably only make things worse, she secured her arms around Chloe's waist. They stood in the middle of the sidewalk for minutes, just holding each other as if they would fall otherwise. Chloe trembled in her arms, strangely small for the first time. Her hands occasionally disappeared under her hair to wipe at her face, but she was otherwise still as she cried.

Eventually, Max coaxed Chloe back to the hotel. The girl collapsed onto the bed, laying face-down. And there she stayed for a long time. Max ordered food, took a shower, and managed to find Chloe's pipe before she got the other girl to show her face to the world again, to listlessly eat the pizza that had arrived.

She had mindlessly shoveled two pieces in her mouth before she looked down at her third slice thoughtfully. She studied it as if seeing it for the first time, considering it as Max had done her first very first piece back in Chicago.

"Thin crust in New York. You remembered." Chloe observed, glancing up and managing a tiny smile. Max returned it tenfold, reaching across to squeeze the other girl's knee affectionately.

"Of course I did."

Chloe started crying again, but didn't stop eating. It was sort of weird to watch, but Max didn't plan to judge the other girls' 'coping' mechanisms.

After they'd eaten, she convinced Chloe to take a quick shower, and used the time to carefully load the pipe as she'd seen the owner do a few times. She only spilled a little, and it looked just as good as when Chloe did it in her opinion, so she considered it a mission accomplished.

She placed it, along with a lighter and a bottle of lemonade they'd bought from a corner store, on the nightstand. The curtains blocked out the light from the street well enough when she closed them, watching them billow just a bit from the breeze coming in through the cracked window. Noise from the street filtered in, but her mind had already gotten used to pushing it to the background. Still, she found a station on the radio that was playing some of the slower indie that she knew Chloe secretly liked.

The girl herself emerged from the bathroom shortly in a wave of steam, her skin sparkling where water still beaded. It looked like she hadn't dried off at all. With a sigh, Max got up to meet her, intercepting with a towel and drying her from head to toe.

Chloe kissed her cheek as thanks, flopping back into bed, naked and hair still slicked back with water. It should have been frustrating, but it seemed sort of like she was moping, and Max found it sort of endearing. She was kind of enjoying indulging Chloe's childish side, too.

Retrieving the hairbrush from the bathroom, she pulled Chloe into a sitting position and toweled her hair till it was damp rather than sopping. Then she carefully parted and brushed it into Chloe's normal style.

She traded the brush for the pipe, offering this to Chloe next. It garnered far more interest, and Chloe inhaled appreciatively when Max lit it for her. She smoked almost the whole thing to herself, but that was fine because Max's mind didn't need to be fuzzy.

Chloe sighed as she settled down on top of her, for the most part. Her head found Max's shoulder, and she hooked a leg over the smaller girl's hip. Max ran her fingers along Chloe's back in patterns she hoped were soothing, like the other girl did for her at night sometimes to help her sleep.

It felt like Chloe wanted to talk, but she likely couldn't find the words, or maybe the strength. Max let her take her time, content in just spending time with the girl, glad she still had the opportunity.

"…She came here with this fucking drug dealing burnout from Arcadia Bay. Frank." Chloe blurted suddenly, her fingers that had been splayed along Max's ribs fisting up in her shirt instead. "She left me without a word to fuck off with the town fuck-up. Shit!"

Max frowned, fingers stalling for a moment before resuming their circles. She could feel Chloe's tears soaking through her shirt, but she didn't bring it up, just pretended that she didn't notice. It was a while before Chloe was composed enough to speak again.

"The worst part is that she tried to kiss me after she told me everything. She said she'd missed me. She said she fell in love with Frank, but she missed being with me." She snarled, quivering with what must have been rage. "As if everything was fine, and we were still the best of fucking friends!"

Max wasn't really sure what she could say. She didn't know the true extent of Chloe's relationship with Rachel. She didn't know what they had agreed on, or what they felt for each other, on either end. She didn't know how much of a betrayal this was, but she got the feeling that, for Chloe at least, Rachel had crossed an uncrossable line.

"Fuck! I'm just so-" She cut off, searching for a word and failing to find one. She just made an aggravated growling noise instead, going limp against Max as a final show of her emotional overload.

Chloe's hair had dried enough for Max to run her fingers through it, so she angled her arm up to switch to that instead.

"I'm so tired of feeling. It hurts." Chloe murmured, her voice shockingly soft after her bout of shouting. Max rolled over so she could lay side by side with Chloe, finally looking her in the eyes. She brushed some hair away tenderly, lingering on the skin of Chloe's cheek. Even with her eyes red from crying, Chloe looked so starkly beautiful, misplaced neon in a film noir.

Instead of trying to verbalize further, Chloe kissed her. Max sort of anticipated it being hard and desperate, because the girl seemed to be rather in distress. But it was very careful, and very purposeful. Instead of any sort of heat or breathlessness, it was more about the closeness, about pressing as near to each other as they could.

They would need to talk about it more. A lot more. But for the time being, Max was going to let Chloe sleep and forget for a little while, at least.

In the meantime, she was left to think about the future that just opened up to her. She couldn't remember ever being so glad that she _hadn't_ altered the progression of time. It felt somehow more significant that Chloe was still with her without any manipulation involved than if she'd rewound so they hadn't found Rachel.

They'd found her, and in the end, she was still with Chloe. It was comforting. It was exhilarating. But were they done with Rachel Amber, just like that? Chloe was content just knowing that she'd been wronged? Would anyone really drive all the way across the country just to give up because the person they were chasing didn't say the things they wanted to hear?

But then, things had changed along the way. She'd met Max, namely.

Still, if whatever they were was going to be long-term, they were going to need to get on the same page. It was time to talk about everything they'd been pretending didn't matter. Time to talk about the way they felt and where they were going with each other.

Chloe shifted a bit in her sleep, mumbling something that was incoherent before going still again. It caught Max's attention, and instead of thinking through things, like she'd planned, she found herself watching the other girl instead. The rise and fall of her chest, the darkness between her lips where they parted, the haphazard fanning of her electric blue hair across the pillow.

It was so easy to get lost.

When Max finally did fall asleep, it felt like she was woken only moments later. She'd managed maybe two hours, at best. Chloe woke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, a fresh face and fresh attitude doing her wonders after a night of sleep. Her grin was comforting enough of a sight that Max didn't even complain about getting woken up, though she yawned in passive complaint. It wasn't as if Chloe could _know_ that she'd stayed up much too late for no real reason, torturing herself over things they'd have to deal with _together_ anyway.

Max joined the other girl on the balcony after she'd gotten dressed, watching Chloe drag heavily from a cigarette, banishing the smoke into the wind in thick clouds. She seemed thoughtful, maybe pensive even, looking across the horizon at the greyish city light.

"So, I was thinking we could shoot down to New Orleans while we're on the East Coast. I've never been." She offered, as if that justified the randomness of her comment. She brought it up as if it were just another stop on their way to New York, rather than a new destination in itself.

Max considered calling her out on it. They needed to talk about things, needed to open up to each other and really _talk_ about what they were going to do. It was time to start thinking about the future in real terms. And, honestly, it was her opinion that Chloe probably needed to have a more thorough conversation with Rachel. The two had things they desperately needed to sort out, at the very least.

But she let it go, at least for the time being.

"Okay." She agreed. They'd have plenty of time to talk about it on the drive to Louisiana. And Chloe very obviously needed to get _away._

Chloe trapped her against the railing, holding her snugly for a moment as what was left of the cigarette burned to ash between her fingers. Her body didn't provide much heat, but the nearness didn't go unappreciated. Max clung to the back of her shirt, breathing her in for a moment, thanking the stars that she still got to do things like that.

"Let's leave now." Chloe decided. Max nodded, pulling back to return to the room and begin packing again. There was no rush, not really. No reason she needed to be quick and efficient. But something in Chloe's voice made it feel urgent, as if New York, Rachel Amber, her loss, was suffocating her slowly.

They were heading back to the truck before most people in the hotel had even stirred.

The couple that had let them borrow their driveway invited them in for breakfast which they were too road-weathered to refuse. Free food is free food, no matter how awkward it might be to walk into a relative stranger's house.

The older looking of the two women, who had introduced herself as Carmen, led the way to a small table in the kitchen, and the other, Lola, continued cooking, cracking a few extra eggs into a pan and going into the fridge to get more bacon.

"To be honest, we thought it'd take a bit longer for you two to come back." Carmen admitted, smiling politely. "Most girls your age can't leave New York after just a day."

Chloe glanced towards the window, and Max glanced at Chloe. Carmen, apparently rather perceptive, immediately dropped it, offering to get some drinks for everyone instead. Max squeezed Chloe's hand under the table, offering the only support she could, really.

"You said you were from Oregon, right? Or was it Washington…" Carmen tried again.

"Oregon." Chloe provided, sipping at some coffee she'd been provided.

"Are you headed back that way now?" Lola piped up, not looking away from the pan while breakfast finished up.

"Mmm…" Chloe hummed, looking at Max as if for her opinion. The brunette, of course, didn't really have much of one. If it was with Chloe, she'd go just about anywhere. That must have read in her eyes, for Chloe nodded. "I think we'll start heading that way, yeah. We're going to detour for New Orleans, and I imagine we'll make a few stops, but we'll be heading that way."

"Think that truck'll make it?" Carmen laughed, quirking a brow. Chloe grinned too.

"Ehh, we got this far."

It was sort of nice to see Chloe interacting with other people, beyond goods and services. They hadn't really stopped long enough to make any friends along the way, so it'd been mostly just them talking to each other. Seeing the other girl having a pleasant conversation with someone was refreshing.

It was also particularly interesting to see how differently Chloe behaved around other people. Max had never realized just how comfortable her companion must have been around her. While Chloe was friendly with Carmen and Lola, it was far more reserved than what Max got.

Her smiles weren't as big, her jokes weren't as terrible, her sentences not as wordy. It made the brunette feel just a little special.

Chloe tried, with little success, to distract the couple from Max's deplorable eating habits with idle conversation. They watched her voracious appetite clear three helpings worth of eggs and bacon before Chloe managed to put an end to it. Carmen and Lola, of course, took it with good humor.

"I'm flattered you like my cooking so much." Lola giggled. "Carmen says I don't use enough seasoning, but I think the little one would beg to differ."

Max found it in her to flush, hiding in her orange juice while everyone got a good laugh. Chloe patted her back reassuringly, honing in for a moment with her gaze to make sure that everything was still alright. The smaller girl let her lips quirk into a tiny smile, and it was all the reassurance Chloe needed.

Carmen took the dishes to the sink, but poured Chloe another cup of coffee. It was an invitation to stay longer, and it didn't seem like the girl had plans of declining as she mixed some sugar in.

"So, you two are… _Together_?" Lola prompted, her emphasis of 'together' implying it meant more than Max thought. Well, she could probably guess what Lola was really asking.

Again, Chloe turned to her, and it seemed she considered it for a long time, maybe searching for the answer in the stormy blue of Max's irises.

"Yes." She finally replied. Insignificant, maybe, but it was the first time she'd ever really _said_ so. It made Max's heart ache pleasantly. If either of the older women noticed the long pause, they didn't say anything. Instead, they both just smiled knowingly, sharing a similar conversation with only a look. It was comforting to know that other people could do that, too.

It was actually sort of hard to say goodbye when Chloe killed the last of her room temperature coffee. They'd passed a few hours with the couple without realizing. It had been nice, though. They departed with the promise that they'd visit if they were ever in the area again.

The truck's engine turned over concerningly the first time Chloe tried the key, but it started with a roar on the second go, so she shrugged and they waved goodbye to the couple as they hit the road again.

The feel of the highway rumbling under the tires was a welcome familiarity. It almost felt normal, in a way. Chloe seemed far more relaxed as well, easily directing the truck along, southbound. Her shoulders had visibly drooped into her normal slouch, her right hand tangled up with Max's loosely between them.

Max was starting to recognize the songs that played on the radio, and she found herself mouthing the words to the soft song playing. It was one of Chloe's favorites, she remembered her mentioning. It had a strange vibe to it, sort of a sad resignation. A feeble acceptance of what life doled out. Perhaps that's why Chloe liked it so much. She wound up singing along, too.

At the end of the song, Chloe exited, driving to some secluded area that was mostly just houses and winding roads. Max was a bit concerned when she stopped, putting the truck in park and then removing the key. Chloe gave her a mischievous smile.

"You need to learn how to drive." She announced.

Max's eyes widened in horror. But before she could dive out of the truck to escape, Chloe had grabbed her arm, effectively trapping her.

"Come on. I'm going to teach you. And there's no one out here, so it doesn't matter if you're not good at first. This is literally butt-fuck nowhere. Come on." She urged. Max bit her lip, trying for a moment to be petulantly stubborn. But she gave in with a sigh, in the end, switching seats with Chloe and trying to listen to the overwhelming amount of things she needed to keep track of to drive.

It took her literally thirteen tries to even get the truck to move without it dying. She was almost in tears with frustration. Why were there so many pedals? But Chloe just calmly explained what she was doing wrong, and tried to direct her to correct it. When she finally did manage to get it, Chloe lit up, practically screaming about how 'fucking rad' Max was.

She would make a really good teacher, actually.

After about three hours of trial and mishap, during which Max nearly killed them twice and actually might have killed them a third time if she hadn't managed to rewind just before they smashed into the ditch she'd just swerved into trying to avoid another driver, she decided to take a break.

But when they woke up, stiff and a bit cold the next morning from sleeping in the truck, Chloe made her try again. And there was some more mishap, but by the end of it Max had managed to go a steady 40 miles per hour on a winding side road without hitting any other cars _or_ ditches. It was a start.

And she had a feeling that it was only one of the many things Chloe was going to start teaching her to do. Because, and she realized this as she was fiddling with Chloe's phone and saw that she had changed her background picture to a 'selfie' they'd taken a few days ago, Chloe was now thinking about her in the long-term, too.

They were in this together, for the long-haul. If they could cross the country with the government very likely on their tail to find someone who only thoroughly broke Chloe's heart and come out walking with their hands clasped, what could stop them, really?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, again, for the wait! I was waiting to get this through my editor, but life happens. She's been super busy, and hasn't had a chance to go over it yet. I felt bad, though, making you guys wait so long. So my plan is just to go ahead and post this now, and then post the edited copy when she gets the time.
> 
> It shouldn't be significantly different. Like the edits for the first few chapters, it'll mostly be just wordplay. I'd let you guys know if I made a change significant enough to effect the overall story, don't worry. Sorry again for the wait, and unedited chapter. I'll get the edited one up as soon as I can.
> 
> So, believe it or not, this story has sort of warranted an 'arc' sort of organization in my mind. I only mention this because we've reached the conclusion of what I'm going to call the 'New York' story arc. That doesn't mean the story is over! Just that things will shift gears in the next chapter, so be prepared.
> 
> Thanks for the feedback thus far guys! I know I'm behind on replies for the last round of comments, and I'm sorry. Much like my editor, my life has been happening pretty hardcore, too. I've definitely read, them, though. You guys have no idea how huge I smile anytime I get an email about a new message. They light up my day, seriously.
> 
> Alright, that's all for today, folks. Thanks again, and till next time!
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


	9. Chapter 9

It only took a few days for Chloe to convince Max to drive for a few hours every once in a while. At first, the speed had been entirely too frightening. But soon the highway was comfortable territory; driving it was straightforward, and there was very little steering involved, for the most part. It was much easier than the windy roads she'd practiced on.

Chloe seemed to enjoy the new free time, though she only seemed to spend it smoking and napping on occasion. Otherwise she just scrolled through the internet on her phone. Still, she obviously liked having breaks.

After a few days of driving off and on, Max could see why. It wasn't as complicated as it seemed, but it was uniquely taxing. Her muscles always felt stiff, and her eyes heavy whenever her turn was over. Still, they were able to travel for longer per day. In no time at all they were shedding their coats and packing them away as they plunged further into the Southern climate.

They found a place just outside of New Orleans, walking into the city and getting lost in the public transportation system. It was alright, though, because the streetcars gave them a view no matter where they wound up. The downtown area, backed up with traffic that was reckless enough to make Chloe look like a defensive driver, eventually gave way to enormous mansions with sprawling yards, palatial and starkly posh compared to the tightly packed little houses that made up the neighborhoods they'd passed.

When it became apparent they'd managed to loop back around to roughly where they'd started, Chloe nudged Max towards the door and they wandered into downtown. It was crawling with people, smoke billowing from cigarettes and blunts, groups of people passing them around in broad daylight. Chloe instructed her not to make eye contact, even though the guys offered to let them join. Never did Max think she'd see a day where Chloe would pass up free marijuana.

The streets were lined with so many interesting shops that it was hard to pick just a few to peek into. Some, which Chloe called Voodoo shops, were teeming with religious paraphernalia that Max couldn't even begin to understand. Most of the people milling through the shops seemed to be there seeking more of a novelty than anything else, but Max found many of the items to be ornately beautiful. If Chloe wasn't so freaked out by it all, she might have bought something.

Eventually they wound up on a street called Bourbon, and Chloe had herself in a tizzy with excitement for whatever reason, though it seemed rather unextraordinary after everything they'd seen that day. But when Chloe popped out of a building a minute or two later, a beer in hand, Max started to get an idea what the appeal might be. At least, for Chloe.

"Want one?" The girl wondered, quirking a brow as she tipped the brown bottle up for a drink. She seemed to think on it for a second, then swallowed thoughtfully. "Actually, how 'bout you just try one first?" She suggested, pushing her own bottle into Max's hands.

The brunette considered it for a moment, taking a regrettable sniff before reluctantly chancing an even more regrettable sip. Her tongue was out as she shoved the offending beverage back at Chloe, glaring.

"Why?" Was all she managed, knowing she wouldn't get an answer as Chloe launched into a fit of cackling. Max began to crack a smile as well at the other girl's antics, but it fell as she noticed them giving way to shaky sobs instead.

"Chloe?" She called softly, her hand finding the other girl's shoulder without a thought.

"Shit."

With that Chloe sat down on the curb, her legs spilling into the street as she hid her face in her knees. Not knowing what to say, Max could only sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her middle and waiting for her to stop shaking.

"I-I'm sorry." She mumbled, voice hitching. Max shushed her. She cried more, the skin of her hands and fingers pulled taught as she clamped down on the bottle.

When she emerged, she took a drink that was about half of the remaining liquid, coughing roughly. Then she wiped her face, took another drink, and sighed.

"I'm sorry. It's weird, thinking that I found her, but I left her there. I just… I don't know. I have the feeling I'm never going to see her again, and I-" She had to stop, calm herself down again.

"I'm here in New Orleans, having a beer on Bourbon Street without her. We always said we'd come here for Marti Gras and get trashed. And I… I don't know. It's just weird, and it kind of hurts. I know you don't want to hear it."

Max frowned. Chloe wasn't wrong. It was sort of hurtful to think that she wasn't enough. But she had to try to remember that Chloe had chosen her, one way or another. There was no point being jealous of Rachel Amber anymore.

"It's okay, Chloe. Sorry that I don't like beer."

Chloe laughed. It was still sort of sad, but at least she was laughing again.

"Don't apologize. Shit's nasty." Chloe replied, finishing off her bottle with a smirk that bordered on a grimace. Max smiled. "Whoo. Alright. I think I've got my emotions in check again. Yikes."

Chloe hopped up with that, tossing the beer bottle in a trashcan on her way into a different bar for another one.

"Alright, let's walk." She announced as she emerged victorious yet again. She slung her arm around Max's shoulders and began to lead them down another random street. It didn't really seem to matter where they were going, as long as they were moving. There was too much to look at to stop and stare, and it all sort of went by in an amazing, colorful blur.

And then it got dark, and they came to the shocking conclusion that they had no idea where they were or how to get back to the hotel. Chloe couldn't stop laughing. Max suspected she was a little drunk. She'd definitely had a few more beers while they traveled.

"Okay, so, we're fucking lost." Chloe admitted, shrugging. " _But,_ on the bright side, I think that guy up on the roof over there wants us to come party." She mitigated, pointing.

Max felt her neck crack, knowing she moved it way too fast. But when someone says 'that guy up on the roof over there,' the general reaction is usually to look. Luckily, he wasn't about to throw himself off, as some dark part of Max's mind had suggested. He was safely tucked behind a rail, but he _was_ waving at them furiously, gesturing for them to come over.

It seemed suspicious to Max, but Chloe was obviously interested. So, sucking in a breath, Max began to walk that direction, pulling Chloe along by the hand. She could feel the excitement radiating out of the other girl, and saw her waving up at the guy out of the corner of her eye.

After ducking under an open doorway, they found themselves at the bottom of a stairwell. It took a moment, but they guy from the roof stumbled down, breathing a bit laborious after racing down the stairs. Max took him in for a moment.

He could be cute, she supposed. He let his coppery hair grow a bit longer than most guys, and it suited him, highlighting a boyish charm that he had despite the half-empty bottle in one of his hands.

"Wow, I can't believe you guys actually stopped! I just won twenty bucks, so thanks!" He said as a greeting, grinning. Chloe winked in response.

"As long as we get up on that roof, you're welcome." She hinted. He nodded quickly, turning around and gesturing to the stairs.

"Yeah, we stopped you 'cause you looked cool, I guess. Everyone just started shouting about your hair and told me I had to get you to come up. I dunno whose place this is, I'm here with some friends from high school. We just graduated, so we came to celebrate, you know? I don't really remember how we wound up here, specifically. Uh… Wow, I might be really drunk. Did I tell you what my name is? It's Warren."

Max couldn't find it in her to really listen to everything Warren said, but he seemed nice. He smiled a lot. It put her nerves a little at ease, because it felt really genuine. Maybe she could relax.

They took the stairs all the way to the top, and were led into a small apartment. People about their age, some a bit older, milled about. The air was heavy with smoke, and the smell was so mixed that Max suspected it must contain at least seven brands of cigarettes and two kinds of marijuana. Just to ballpark it, of course.

A few people glanced up at them, several offering some form of greeting. Chloe responded to the collective crowd with a hearty "Yo." That seemed to be enough, for everyone returned to what they'd been doing. Warren nodded towards a room off to the side, and they found their roof access at last.

It was a window, and it had a drop that was a few feet more than Max really felt comfortable with. But when Chloe saw the view of the river beyond, she didn't hesitate to clamber up and drop herself over the ledge as she'd watched Warren do. Unwilling to be left alone in a crowd of strangers, Max took a breath and prepared herself.

"Don't worry, Mad Max. I'll catch you." Chloe called up. Max glanced at her, managing a small smile. The girl stood with her arms poised to cushion a fall, should Max manage to mess it up. It was definitely comforting, and it made it easier to slither down the wall and fall until her feet found the roof. She didn't stumble, but she still felt Chloe's hands on her back anyway. She stole one to hold, smiling as she turned around.

Warren had returned to his presumed friends, most likely to collect his money. Max felt awkward, abandoned in a crowd of unfamiliar people, but Chloe seemed to feel right at home. She trudged over to the side of the roof that faced the river, sitting on the ledge and coaxing Max next to her.

The view was definitely worth the trouble. The water reflected the moon and the lights, the waves sending ripples through the image. Boats occasionally went by, including an old fashioned paddleboat that Max did her best to take a picture of. It probably wouldn't come out, but it didn't stop her from trying.

Chloe must have been busy while Max was having her little photo shoot, because she produced a joint as soon as Max had put the camera away.

"Since drinking's not your thing." She explained. "We don't have to stay here long, if it's not your thing. But parties are significantly more fun if you're some sort of inebriated."

Max glanced around quickly to see if anyone had noticed.

"Should we do that _here_?" She whispered. Chloe snorted, pointing over Max's shoulder.

"They're passing a bong around right over there."

Max craned her neck to look. A group of about seven people were passing around what looked like an enormous version of Chloe's pipe.

"Oh." She managed, taking the joint. Chloe cupped a hand over the end to shield from the breeze as she lit it. Max sucked in a breath, and the other girl watched to make sure the paper continued burning before putting the lighter back in her pocket.

"You can have most of that." She added, winking at someone who passed her a beer, though Max hadn't heard her ask for one. "I get the feeling I'm gonna be set." She toasted, raising the bottle. A few nearby people lifted theirs as well.

Max rolled her eyes, trying to smoke languidly, the way that Chloe did. She let the smoke spill from her lips slowly, curling across the planes of her face and sifting through her hair before disappearing into the breeze. She caught Chloe staring, and it made her lips curl at the corners. But the façade was shattered as she choked at the end and wound up coughing roughly.

Chloe snickered, patting her back sympathetically and plucking the joint out of her fingers to steal a hit.

"Don't worry, Max. There's plenty of time to go pro." She promised, tucking the paper between the brunette's lips again. Max inhaled, letting it fall between her index and middle finger like she'd seen Chloe do, tapping the end with her thumb until the excess ashes crumbled off.

She turned her eyes to the street below, smoking leisurely. With a high creeping in, she wasn't noticing the other people so much. Tucked into the small section of ledge, decorative columns on either side making it a space only big enough for the two of them, she felt comfortable. The street was crawling with people, but they seemed far away from her perch, almost not real.

It was strange to look down on their lives, to think of them as small and indistinguishable from her vantage, and yet to know that they too had lived whole lives of their own, with their own significances. She looked at Chloe instead. Chloe hadn't stopped looking at her.

It made her flush a little, and she scrambled to take a puff, even if just to have something to do. Chloe didn't stop staring, though, even then.

"W-What?" Max asked lowly, biting her lip. Chloe shrugged, but grinned as if she wasn't all that uncertain. The brunette just huffed, taking the last hit and grinding out the burning end. She was just about to let the smoke out into the breeze, but Chloe caught it with her lips instead.

Her kiss tasted a lot more like beer than Max might have cared for, but she didn't have it in her to mind too much. She could see what was left of the smoke escaping between them as they parted for breath, and she had to clear her throat, but all in all she was feeling pretty damn stellar.

"If you wanted to kiss, you could have just said so." She eventually pointed out, quirking a brow. Chloe giggled.

"That's not as fun though. You feelin' alright?" She asked.

Max thought it was sort of a weird question, all things considered. It felt like she ought to be the one asking Chloe. But then, was she feeling alright? She hadn't really thought about it. How _did_ she feel?

"…I thought about rewinding." She blurted. Why had she said that? Chloe had asked how she felt, not what was eating her from the inside out. It was so impulsive, she hadn't even considered it before it was out in the open.

Chloe blinked at her, then her brows furrowed.

"To before we came up? Dude, if you hate it that much-"

"No, Chloe-" Max interrupted, shaking her head sadly. "Back in New York. I didn't do it, and I don't think I ever could, but… But I thought about it. About making it so we never found her. And… I guess I'm just realizing that I'm-" She sucked in a breath, and it shuddered a bit, but she pressed forward. "I'm really jealous of her. Before I had even seen her, I couldn't help but hate her a little. Because you love her."

Chloe didn't look like she could find words, her eyes wide. Max realized she was oversharing, but she was in too deep to stop. Maybe getting high wasn't the best idea after all.

"Even now, we're here because you're trying to forget her, or mope about her, or something. But the thing is, I understand. I know you need this. It's selfish of me to think like I am. And I guess I never really thought I was selfish. I don't like feeling that way." She admitted, biting her lip.

"But I wonder, if things had been different, what would you have done? If she'd agreed to come back with you, what would you have done? There's no way you could have taken us both. There's no way three people could get all the way across the country in the truck. And I… I want to know, but I'm also scared to hear it."

"Max, I-" Chloe cut in, holding up her hand to request a moment to think. Max didn't feel like she was done, but she'd also talked a lot. So Chloe deserved a chance to speak too. It seemed like she was really torturing herself over the right way to say whatever it was she was going to say.

"Look, I… I'm going to sound like a fucking shitty person no matter how I say this, but… Fuck! I didn't really think we were going to find her." She spat, knocking over her bottle. It rolled along the roof, forgotten once it was out of sight, disappearing quickly into the darkness.

Max wasn't sure what to think, and didn't want to hurt Chloe by saying the wrong thing, so she waited for Chloe to elaborate. It took a while, but it came.

"At first, I thought I could do anything. I mean, yeah, I was broke and alone and didn't really have any leads, but I thought that if I just loved her enough, it would work." She said, her voice soft. It was probably hard for her to say that sort of thing out loud. Chloe wasn't very open with her inner musings.

"And when I met you, with your literal fucking superpowers… It made me feel even better about my odds finding her. But then… God. Max, I fell in love with you." She said, laughing shakily, her fingers winding into her hair. "The closer we got, the more I started to think we wouldn't find her. What were the odds, you know? She's one of so many billions of people in the world. It wasn't even about finding Rachel anymore, it was about staying with you."

Max swallowed. The jealousy that had been curling in her stomach began to feel lighter as Chloe opened up with her.

"When we actually found her I… I don't know. I was supposed to be excited to see her. I imagined it like this big thing; we'd, like, leap into each other's arms and hug it out and just squeeze until someone pulled us apart. But when I saw her, I just… I could hardly move."

Max recalled. She'd assumed they'd had their joyful reunion somewhere more appropriate than the middle of the café, but apparently they'd skipped it all together. Chloe looked down at her boots.

"It was like, I was so shocked to see her. And my brain was trying to, like, compute how this was going to work, you know? I was trying so hard to figure out how to keep both of you, how to explain things to both of you. And, at the same time, I'm trying to figure out how I even fucking feel. Because, on the one hand, I've loved Rachel since, like, forever. But she also never really… Well, I don't know if that was ever going anywhere. And after meeting you, and actually having someone who feels the same way… I don't know. I couldn't imagine going back to how it was with Rachel."

Max couldn't even begin to keep up. She listened, clinging on to every word, and it did ease her mind a bit. But Chloe had so many feelings storming inside of her... It made Max feel even more selfish about bringing her own jealousy up. Chloe had so much more to deal with. And what little insight Max had gained only made it all the more apparent that there was a lot more to it than she even knew about.

"…I'm mad at her for fucking off with Frank. I feel so fucking betrayed. But I'm also sort of… Glad." Chloe confessed, grimacing. "She gave me someone to be mad at, and… She made it easy for me to choose." She finished, still looking at her shoes as if seeing them for the first time. But her hand slid into Max's, squeezing firmly. "I'm sorry. I know that's not what you wanted to hear."

The brunette squeezed back, nudging her body closer so she could kiss Chloe's cheek. What Chloe said was sort of deplorable, but that in itself was a comfort. At least they were both sort of horrible.

"No, that's exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for talking about your feelings. Sorry if I made it really awkward." She murmured. Chloe giggled quietly, turning her face to steal a proper kiss.

Warren came over with fresh beers then, snapping them out of the moment they'd lost themselves in. The sounds of the city returned to the forefront, the chatter of several voices seeping in to fill what had seemed like silence around them moments ago. It was almost like time had started again, but Max didn't remember pausing it.

Chloe awkwardly accepted the drinks, and invited Warren, and the friend that had followed him over, to sit with them. Her name was Brooke, and Max could see from a mile away that she wanted to be Warren's girlfriend. The boy was oblivious, staring at Max very obviously. She got the feeling he was pretty dense.

As if they hadn't just had a very emotional talk, they both settled into chatting with Brooke and Warren. It was the first time that Max had really had a chance to properly socialize with people her age, other than Chloe. They had so many nuances to the way they spoke, and jokes that only they understood. It was really charming.

After warming up to the new company, Chloe offered up another joint from her cigarette pack. Brooke eyed it a little warily, but Warren, after staring in surprise for a brief second, declared "fuck it," and let Chloe light a hit for him.

He coughed even more than Max had the first time, but he also had the added handicap of only beer to sooth the ache. Max didn't envy him, and couldn't deny feeling superior as she blew her own smoke expertly. Brooke wound up joining in, in the end, and all four of them decided to leave together once they were nice and giggly, since it turned out they were actually staying close to each other.

Warren called goodbye to the other friends that had come on the trip, then helped boost everyone back up into the apartment before scrambling up the wall and through the window himself.

The streetcar was still running, thankfully, so they rode it as far as they could, then Warren began leading the way. All the while, he was chatting Max's ear off. She had long lost track of what he was talking about, the words he was firing off sounding medical and going right over her head. Brooke had started glaring at her, and Chloe couldn't stop snickering.

Thankfully, their hotel came into view, and Max sighed in relief. She picked up the pace a bit. It had been fun, but she was exhausted, and ready to curl up with Chloe after their talk. She felt like she needed it.

They said goodbye to their new friends. Warren asked if they could hang out again, but Chloe informed him that they would be leaving in the morning. He seemed pretty bummed, and maybe a little reluctant to leave. Brooke pulled on his wrist. When he remained unmoved, Chloe, smirking, pressed a kiss to Max's cheek. That seemed to do the trick. He look a bit dejected as he sulked away, leaving them to climb the stairs to their room.

Max collapsed into bed as Chloe snickered, locking the door with the chain.

"He _so_ had the hots for you!" She crooned, making a show of doubling over. Max groaned.

"I know-"

"Holy shit, talk about dense as fuck! That girl, Brooke, was all over him. I feel almost bad for her."

She jumped, landing squarely next to Max, the mattress bouncing and sending her up a few inches before she tipped over onto Chloe. It didn't seem to be a problem, though, for Chloe just wrapped her arm around the other girl's shoulders, drawing her close as she laid back.

"I think we're due for some snuggling. Maybe some pillow talk." She announced. Max nodded, wriggling around to discard most of her clothing, waiting till Chloe had finished doing the same before scooting closer again.

Chloe's legs were soft, but cool against Max's as they slid to tangle together. The taller girl's fingers, twisted in the fabric of Max's shirt, dragging her as close as she could. Her nose, pressed into the crook of Max's neck, inhaled. Maybe she meant to memorize. She held the breath for a long time, letting it out as a sigh.

"I love you, Max."

It felt nice, and Max let it roll over her in waves. Then she kissed Chloe, slowly, without any sort of urgency. She was more than satisfied as they pulled away, sighing happily. But the other girl, apparently, wasn't on the same page.

"Um, hey?" She prompted softly. Max glanced up. "Could you, uh, say it?"

Had she not? Thinking on it, she couldn't remember actually saying it out loud before. She'd always reciprocated, but she was starting to realize that she usually relied on physical gestures.

"Chloe." She breathed, cupping the girl's face. "Chloe, I love you. I love you so much." She promised.

The girl let out a breath, closing her eyes for a moment. Apparently, she'd really needed to hear it. Almost immediately, her countenance shifted. Max could feel that she was happier. Had neglecting to say it so long really affected Chloe that much? She'd have to make a point of saying it more often.

"Thank you." She mumbled, snuggling in again. "It's been fucking weird, getting here. But it's gonna be you and me, forever, alright?"

Max nodded, smiling dreamily. That sounded absolutely perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying, guys. Honest. We've been really slow at my main job, resulting in few hours, so I'm working two jobs again for the time being, meaning I have very little free time. Also I think I'm having a bit of a depression flare, so my motivation is about zero. Still, I work on chapters when I can. Little by little, paragraph by paragraph, we'll get there. Sorry for sucking, I will try to suck less in the future.
> 
> I know I'm super behind on replying to comments, and I try really hard to be on top of that, but it's a struggle lately. Just know, it was a comment that reminded me how much I love this story and that I needed to post a new chapter, so rest assured I do get them, and they mean the world to me. If I have some time between shifts tomorrow, I'll try to get through a few.
> 
> Not much more for me to say at the moment, other than thank you for your continued support and patience. I do still try, and I'm determined to finish this story no matter what, if only for my loyalists. Kisses guys, really. <3
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, it does get a bit nsfw this chapter. I don't want anyone too surprised.

Chloe decided they should start heading back for Arcadia Bay. She reasoned that her mother was probably low-key worrying her head off. Max got the feeling there was more to it than that, but she looked forward to the thought of _not_ driving for a few days. She'd probably spend the first two or three in bed, if Chloe would let her.

They noticed Warren and some of his friends coming out of a hotel that they passed, but opted not to stop and talk again. Chloe warned they might get too attached. The brunette found herself believing it, already a bit sad to watch her new friend fade into the distance.

"Where do you think we should stop tonight?" Chloe wondered, glancing at the road signs they passed to make sure they were still on the right track. Max hadn't really been asked something like that before. She had to consider it, and consult the map she'd acquired near the beginning of her trip.

"Um… Colorado is kind of close?" She suggested.

"Not _that_ close. We can pass through tomorrow. The real question is: Texas or Oklahoma?" Chloe elaborated. Then her brows furrowed. "Um, you know what, never mind. Definitely Texas. You can pick the next one, promise."

Max wasn't sure what Oklahoma had done to deserve immediate dismissal, but she shrugged, nodding.

"We'll have tacos for dinner." Chloe added, grinning. "And I'm not talking about Taco Bell." She promised.

Max had no problem with Taco Bell, and Chloe continued to stop there despite her constant commentary on how terrible it was, so she must not have really had one either. Still, Max was up to try a new kind. The way Chloe said it implied they'd be better, too.

"Fuck, we should, like, get some cowboy hats and shit." Chloe snickered. "We'll be the lesbian version of Brokeback Mountain!"

"Where is Brokeback Mountain? Is it in Texas?" Max wondered, reaching to get the map out of the console again. Chloe laughed even harder.

"It's a movie, not a place." She managed, holding up her hand while she got herself under control to show that she planned on explaining further. It took her a while. "It's about two cowboys that fall in love on a job, but like, society was even shittier at the time, so they had to hide it and have wives they didn't want and shit."

Max frowned, thinking back on the old woman that had stopped them outside of a gas station. It already felt like a lifetime ago, and she couldn't even remember what state they'd been in. But she remembered the look on the lady's face, and how scared she'd been as they were walking away from her, as if the 70 year old might give chase.

"That sounds like a sad movie." She mumbled. Chloe glanced at her.

"Yeah, it is." She agreed, nodding. "I cried like a fucking baby at the end. That's how it was, though. That's how it still is, sometimes."

Max contemplated this, while Chloe forgot about it. She'd never really considered how other people would see their relationship; She'd never had one before, after all. But Chloe was making it sound awfully bleak. Could she get used to the scrutiny? She'd have to.

Texas happened, and then continued to happen for hours and hours. It didn't matter how blazed they got, time just wouldn't seem to pass. For once, Max wished she could fast-forward. True to Chloe's promise, they did stop for tacos, but not much else. It was just them, the truck, and mostly unextraordinary landscapes zipping by.

For this reason, she was incredibly happy when Chloe stopped at a hotel and went inside to see if they could get a room. Max stayed in the truck, tidying up the mess they'd made throughout the day. Chloe had a habit of just tossing empty wrappers about carelessly in her truck, and letting ashes accumulate on the console.

Max swept the ashes into her palm and dusted them out of the window, grimacing as her hands smeared grey. Without many other options, she wiped them on her pants and returned to gathering the garbage into a bag to toss into the can outside the hotel.

She'd just finished when Chloe emerged bearing the thumbs up.

"It took some convincing, but we're in. I don't think she liked my hair." She sneered, tousling a lock and scrutinizing it between her fingers briefly. Max grabbed the hand, and Chloe released her hold, lacing their fingers instead.

"I love it." Max promised, using her free hand to ruffle what strands poked out from the beanie. They were still soft from her last shower. Chloe's lips parted, and Max could hear her breathing for a few seconds. Then she leaned in for a kiss, pulling Max to her chest in the process.

"I love _you._ " She mumbled, swaying them from side to side for several seconds before letting go with one last squeeze. "Come on, let's go in. I don't want to get caught making out in public in Texas."

Max helped her get their stuff from the truck and they filed in. The lady at the counter _did_ shoot them a look as they passed, particularly at the ash smeared across Max's jeans, but she didn't say anything. It was sort of hard to take her seriously, anyway. Her hair was styled to look very voluminous, but the hairspray made it look dull and kinky. Max had only seen that sort of style as a joke on television.

The room was smaller than some that they'd stayed in, but it was on the top floor of the hotel, which Chloe was digging. After they unpacked a bit, Max found out why as she was led on a search for a door to the roof. They found it without too much trouble, and found a good place to lean up against a wall.

Chloe slung an arm over her and produced a blunt from her pocket. Max rolled her eyes, but didn't argue as Chloe lit it up and passed it over.

"I think, since you're becoming a bona fide stoner, we should make it a goal to smoke at least once in every state we pass." Chloe announced. Then she snickered. "God, I'm a school teacher's nightmare. I used to wear a D.A.R.E shirt while smoking with Rachel, just to be an ironic shit. I didn't pack it, though. Bummer."

Max didn't know what dare was, but she assumed it had something to do with drugs, if Chloe's ironic sense of humor was any sort of indication. The girl seemed to like doing anything she could to piss off as many people as possible. Max sort of liked the feeling of doing something she knew the scientists would never let her. And feeling like a real teenager. That was nice too.

Occasionally they would hear some footsteps from behind the door they'd come through, but no one bothered them. Long after the last of the ashes had fluttered away found them stargazing, the night air cool but not unbearable. Chloe rolled over to sling her arm over Max's ribs, holding her loosely.

Her breath was warm against the brunette's neck, and it was a nice reminder that Chloe was there while Max contemplated the vastness of the universe stretched before her. No matter how big the cosmos might be, Chloe was there on Earth with her, just as small and just as real.

"I think about weird things when we smoke." She laughed, tearing her eyes from the stars to look at Chloe instead. The girl was grinning.

"Yeah, that's normal." She assured, rubbing Max's nose tenderly with her own before craning her neck to steal a kiss.

"I really like kissing you." The brunette murmured, leaning in for another. Chloe didn't deny her, kissing her slowly, but endlessly. Every time Max thought she was pulling away it was only to drag in a quick breath before diving back in.

She was breathless, but unable to stop herself from clutching Chloe to her, a desperation rising that she didn't feel very often. Only ever around Chloe.

"Fuck-" Chloe sighed, crawling to hover over the other girl to better her angle. Max liked the weight above her, more than she thought she might. She pulled Chloe down more, the girl's elbows buckling till she was pretty much lying on top of her.

Chloe pressed her tongue between their lips, and Max didn't know what to think, but didn't really care anymore. Whatever Chloe was doing, it felt really nice all over.

Another set of footsteps in the hallway had them halting, though these, too, passed without disturbing them. Still, it had broken the bubble securing them in their own world, and Chloe rolled off and stood up. Max followed, her face flushing along with the shy smile she couldn't help as the other girl grabbed her hand and led them back inside.

As soon as the door was shut, Chloe got busy stripping out of most of her clothes. Max followed suit, knowing that to be a sign that they were calling it a night. When she turned around, Chloe was only in her underwear, and it made her swallow to see her chest out in the open. Chloe was really good at looking comfortable while bare to the world.

Her cheeks were sort of red, though, which belied her confidence. Her arms twitched just a bit, as if she had considered trying to cover up for just a split second. Max found her hand was already in her bag, fingers brushing the plastic of the camera.

She pulled it back out as she realized, shaking her head.

Instead of taking a picture, she drew closer to Chloe, twining her arms around the other girl's waist and letting her head rest in the valley between her breasts. She could hear the heart underneath fluttering like butterfly wings, confirming her suspicion that Chloe was more nervous than she let on.

Her fingers trailed up and down the expanse of Chloe's back, and the other girl ventured to pull at the hem of her shirt. She lifted her arms up in lieu of verbal permission, more interested in kissing Chloe's collarbones, for some reason.

In her distraction, she forgot to notice that she was just as naked as Chloe was, and hardly paid attention when Chloe's hands trailed up her stomach and over her chest, squeezing. It sent tingles down her spine, but she couldn't help but focus more on touching Chloe in return.

She was so _soft,_ but also boney. Max sort of like that, though. It was different than her own body, which was sort of soft all over. And Chloe was so pale, even compared to Max who had literally lived underground for years. It was like she couldn't get enough of the feel.

Chloe let her hands fall to rest in the dip of the brunette's waist, pulling her lazily towards the bed until they both lost their balance and toppled over together. Max giggled, pulling Chloe to her again, like they were on the roof, looping her arms around the girl's neck and drawing her closer until their noses were touching.

Chloe peered back at her, her eyes shifting minutely from left to right as if she was reading a story in the grey-blue of Max's irises. It was strangely intimate, and it left the girl frozen in place, only able to stare back as if caught up in hypnosis.

Release came as Chloe closed her eyes to kiss, starting off slow again but working it back up as minutes passed. Her skin was cool to the touch where it was exposed to the air of the room, but warm where it pressed against Max's. Her breathing was bordering on panting, but Max found that she wasn't much different in that regard.

"Fuck, Max-" The girl breathed, voice raspy and kind of low. It made the brunette's stomach flutter, but deeper down than when they kissed and she got butterflies. Chloe had to pause, swallowing and licking her lips before she managed to finish speaking. "God, I wanna fuck you so bad." She whimpered.

Max blinked, hands halting where they'd been subconsciously dancing along the ridges of Chloe's spine. Chloe stopped moving too, sitting up a bit with her eyes wide.

"L-Like, sex?" The brunette blurted, regretting it immediately. Of course that's what Chloe meant! She didn't need to say it again. "Sorry, um, wow-" She stammered.

Chloe moved off of her, sitting up and hiding her face in her hands.

"No, shit, I didn't mean to say that out loud. I knew it would be weird, I just-"

Max frowned, zoning out as Chloe continued to ramble, focusing instead on how much she wanted to feel Chloe on top of her again, wanted to feel her hands all over again. She reached out without too much thought, grabbing Chloe's arm and cutting the other girl off mid-sentence by pulling her near.

"Okay." She said, voice low but sincere. Chloe didn't seem to understand, just staring for a moment before her brows furrowed.

"Okay? Okay what? Max, god, sometimes you just say shit out of the blue, and I-"

"Let's do it. Let's have sex." She clarified, Chloe's nervousness giving her a new sense of daring. She'd do anything for Chloe.

The girl in question seemed taken aback, maybe unprepared to hear something like that from Max. But it didn't take her long to react, cautiously returning to what she'd been doing, her fingers occasionally venturing past the bare skin and over the fabric of Max's underwear, fingertips grazing down her thigh before dancing back up to a nipple.

Max's body felt like it was thrumming all over, and every brush of Chloe's skin against hers made that place in her stomach ache. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was sort of like a pressure that she felt needed to be relieved. Maybe that's what Chloe was feeling?

Finally, after toying with the idea for what felt like much too long, Chloe's fingers hooked in the elastic of her waistband, dragging it down over her legs and throwing the panties over the edge of the bed. She did the same with her own before Max got a chance to feel awkward about showing more skin, and distracted her from it further by crushing their lips together.

Her body slowly settled against Max's, naturally readjusting until their hips slotted together comfortably, the rest of their skin meeting as they began to grasp at each other, as if they could never get close enough.

The smaller girl let her legs part, not really sure why but knowing that she wanted Chloe between them, and Chloe didn't hesitate to shift into the space. The longer they kissed, the closer Max wanted to be, until she was using her legs to hold Chloe against her, slung over her hips and crossed around her waist.

Sparing a moment to push some blue strands out of her face, the girl began to rock forward, a breathy noise escaping her as their skin slid together. Max found herself in a similar state soon thereafter, lips falling apart as a moan spilled out, the motion and the feeling of friction agitating the ache that she was starting to realize must be arousal.

"Holy shit-" Chloe panted, eyes shut as she took a moment to gather her wits. "I want you so bad."

She spoke into Max's ear, so close that she could feel her lips moving, and an involuntary whine escaped her throat. That seemed answer enough, though, for Chloe smiled against her neck.

"You want to, right? Really? You're not just doing this because I want to?" She asked softly, kissing a line down to her shoulder. Max scoffed, but it gave way to airy giggles.

"I want to. Really bad, I think." She confessed, squeezing Chloe with her legs. That seemed to make Chloe happy.

"Good." She grinned, nosing back up under the lobe of Max's ear. "I really love you." She added, lips darting to Max's to say it physically as well. "Let me know if you want to stop, or if you don't like something. It's not going to bother me. It's really important that you're honest with me, Max. Please."

The brunette nodded quickly, eager to get Chloe focused back on her body. But some part of her was pleased that Chloe had taken the time to make sure she felt safe. She must have known that Max was inexperienced, to some degree.

"Mmm-" She hummed, and Max felt the vibration in the bones of her chest. "What do you like, Max? Where do you want me to touch you?"

The girl in question came up short, fingers pressed into Chloe's skin as an anchor. She didn't know what to say, because she didn't know. The other girl seemed to notice.

"Don't be embarrassed. How do you touch yourself?" She tried, as if different wording might help. Obviously she didn't realize exactly _how_ inexperienced the brunette was.

"I-I don't." Max admitted, biting her lip. Chloe seemed incredulous. "Not much, anyway. I just, I was always being watched in the bunker, and some of the people that monitored me would make fun of me if I would try anything. One time they even laughed at me over the speaker in my room. I never really… Never really had the privacy."

"…And you haven't since you escaped?" Chloe inquired, sitting back. Max felt her cheeks get warm, and she couldn't really keep looking at Chloe.

"I met you just a few days after. But I have tried a couple times…" She professed, screwing her eyes shut. "In the shower. I don't know if I did it right though…"

The other girl didn't seem as scandalized as Max expected, which was comforting but surprising. She seemed a bit relieved, even.

"That's normal, dude. Don't let those creeps make you feel weird about it. And, uh… I won't judge you. You don't have to hide it. Er, I mean, I can help, now, if you want. But I wouldn't mind if you, you know…" She trailed, a red tinge seeping into her cheeks too. Max was too embarrassed to respond, and kept her eyes shut.

Chloe seemed sort of unsure after that, hesitant to continue, but she chanced a kiss, and Max didn't spare a thought before reciprocating. Anything to escape the new awkwardness. Chloe glanced to check how she was doing, and Max gave her a look that managed to get her back in gear.

"Fuck, well, just… Talk to me. We'll figure it out together, I guess. We've got time."

Max nodded, running her fingers through Chloe's hair, letting her nails graze at her scalp. She felt Chloe react under the touch, she must have gotten a chill. It made her move a bit faster, hand sliding along Max's stomach and causing her to tremble before going lower, ghosting the pads of her fingers over the sensitive bundle of nerves that Max had only barely explored.

It made the muscles in her legs tense, a shock of sensitivity shooting through her hips and up the line of her back. She always reacted this way, and it sort of scared her. The feeling was so intense that it sort of made her lose control over herself.

But Chloe seemed to focus on it, her fingers applying pressure and trying different patterns. Max's toes curled, noises spilling from her lips unchecked, and she couldn't even work out how to tell Chloe how she felt. Couldn't she see that it was making Max behave strangely?

"Oh, Chloe-" She managed, shuddering as her hips rocked against Chloe's hand, seeking more of the feeling without even knowing it. A prickling feeling behind her eyelids told her she was crying, but she didn't feel sad.

"Does it feel good?" Chloe asked, leaning over so she could speak quietly, for only Max. She kissed at the tears, catching them before they could make trails down the smaller girl's cheeks.

"I-I don't know." Was the reply, and it was the truth. The brunette felt herself on the brink of something, but the feeling sort of scared her, embarrassed her. She could feel pressure building in her abdomen, but she didn't know what would happen if it was released. Chloe was bringing her close to that, though.

"Do you feel like you're about to fall apart? Like you're about to just explode into stars?" The girl asked, breath on Max's ear and her words, in a way the smaller girl couldn't explain, incredibly romantic.

"Yes!" She decided. That was exactly how she felt. Her back was curving off of the mattress, stretching at an angle that should have been uncomfortable. She was too lost in the feeling of Chloe's fingers though, and getting more of it. At the same time, however, she also wanted to pull away. Her body couldn't decide. It was maddening, and some part of her wanted it to be over so she could just collapse.

It was much different than anything she'd done in the shower while Chloe smoked in the other room. Clumsy and ignorant weren't very conducive attributes for self-exploration. She appreciated Chloe's confidence and persistence.

"Chloe, something's happening." She gasped, fingers tangling in the sheets. "I feel… I don't know. But I-I don't know if I should-"

Chloe didn't stop, but she did wriggle up to press their lips together. Max couldn't really kiss back, so she just sort of moaned into the taller girl's mouth. That seemed fine by her, though, for she didn't stop or complain.

Max assumed that meant that she should just let it happen, and gave herself over to what her body wanted to do. She let it move without fighting, trusting that Chloe would tell her if she was doing something wrong.

The feeling grew and washed over her till her legs trembled with effort. And, all at once, Chloe moved her fingers in a certain way and Max felt herself finally stumble over the edge, mouth open and eyes shut tight. She could feel multiple muscles spasming throughout her body before she crumpled completely, a relaxation taking over and turning her to mush.

Chloe's hands drew patterns across her skin, but she wasn't even aware for a while, too lost to feel anything for a moment. But when sensation did come back, it was with a vengeance, and she shook with hypersensitivity as Chloe teased her skin with feathery touches.

"That was-" She began, trying to find the word. Several crossed her mind, but they were all things that would ruin the atmosphere they'd created. Things that would make Chloe laugh. That wouldn't be bad, but she liked the connection they had at the moment. "I've never felt like that before." She settled for.

A smile found Chloe's lips, and she shifted so that they could lie like they did in the truck. She called it spooning. Max loved it.

"Good, though?" Her companion inquired, squeezing her hip affectionately.

"Yeah." She agreed, sighing with a new sort of content.

"Good." Chloe mumbled. The tip of her nose grazed the shell of Max's ear, and it made the brunette smile for some reason.

"Should I do that for you too, now?" She asked, sucking in a breath as she rolled over in Chloe's arms with some effort. Her body felt as tired as it had when she'd sprinted away from the bunker with Nathan. It felt strange to make the comparison, to remember how much had changed. But when she looked up through her lashes, Chloe was smiling too, wide and crooked, and she forgot how to think again.

"Only if you want to. I can do it myself if you're too nervous. Or if you're tired." Chloe replied, one of her hands already dragging down her ribs, over the bone of her hip, and between her legs. Max swallowed.

"C-Can I watch you?" She asked, her mouth so dry that her tongue stuck to the roof when she tried to speak. Chloe grinned, and her heart hammered in her chest.

"You already are." The other girl pointed out, her hips rolling slowly, lazily. Max was lost in it. She didn't know if she could have looked away even if Chloe wanted her to.

She was obviously familiar with her own body, and she worked herself up much quicker. Within minutes her hips were stuttering and she was gasping softly with the effort. She looked stunning, her eyes not quite open or shut and her hair falling in her face messily from dragging her fingers through it over and over with her free hand.

Unable to help herself anymore, Max's hands found purchase on Chloe's chest, and her mouth pressed into the soft skin under the girl's jaw. She seemed surprised, but not unpleasantly so. Her noises got a bit breathier, and even a bit louder. It was obvious when she drew near her own climax, and her fingers tangled in Max's hair, pulling her down and holding on as she stretched her legs out as straight as they would go, toes curling and mouth open but silent.

When she finally relaxed, she pulled in a wavering breath, almost like she'd just been crying really hard. Her arm went limp but remained hooked over Max's shoulder, and the brunette snuggled down against Chloe's collar. She pressed kisses there, lavishing her lover's skin with attention until Chloe had calmed down enough to wrap her up for sleep.

It was a foreign feeling, sleeping without any clothes on. But the sheets felt sort of nice, and Chloe's skin was pleasantly warm for once. Max thought she might like to get used to it. Was that what being in love with someone was like?

She was starting to see why people wrote so many songs about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sex is always kind of awkward for me to write? Like, I can sit here with a straight face and read the straight up filthiest shit on the internet with every member of my extended family in the room. But as soon as I try to write it? I dunno, part of my problem seems to be that I just don't like vulgarity in general, and it winds up being hard for me to write about physicality in general. There are only so many flowery words for vagina.
> 
> My hang-ups aside, sorry for the wait. As you all might have surmised, I'm dealing with some hella writer's block. I've been struggling with the chapter I'm working on for literally a couple months, now. But I think I might have started to pull out of it. I'm trying to, anyway. I know you're all likely tired of excuses, but I do try. And I appreciate the patience you all have while waiting for updates.
> 
> Back to this chapter; I won't have too many nsfw scenes in this story. But it's a part of their relationship, and, let's be real, I'm a thirsty brat. Call it self-indulgence if you want.
> 
> On that note, I've also indulged another favorite of mine: Transgender Chloe. It's been up a while now, but I've got a Pricefield oneshot out. It's called 'On the Way,' if you're interested in reading it. It also has some nsfw content, if that's your jive. I'm a little proud of it, maybe.
> 
> And now I'm back to struggling through each paragraph and watching children's cartoons. (I realized recently that that's pretty much all I watch, at this point? Steven Universe, and recently Voltron. Guess I really am a child at heart.) Thanks for waiting, and for coming back if you did. I appreciate all of the feedback and the understanding, and just know that I am trying. I'm nothing if not determined! Keep well, all 3
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


	11. Chapter 11

Max's head hurt, and it seemed like everything was out to make it worse.

It'd started when they'd stopped to get money for the trip home. Chloe had decided that they shouldn't do it so many times at one ATM, so Max had only rewound twice. But the ache, which usually faded in about twenty minutes at most, had persisted, leaving her with the throbbing beginning of a bad day.

The rattling sound of the window, loose with age, irritated her in a way it never had before. The smoke from Chloe's cigarette, which failed to go entirely out of her cracked window, was starting to make her nauseous, making the pounding feel even worse.

Chloe herself glanced over, seeming to notice that Max wasn't in a good state, for she promptly put it out.

"Not feeling good?" She guessed, turning the music down mercifully. The brunette nodded slowly, grimacing as even that felt like smashing into a wall.

That was Chloe's cue to take the next exit, where she pulled into a gas station lot. After parking, she got out and went inside, returning with a plastic bag weighed down by various drinks. She passed these in to Max, then hopped into the bed of the truck and rummaged through some of the bags.

She must have found what she was looking for, as she returned and slid into the driver's seat.

"Mkay, ibuprofen or marijuana?" She inquired, offering her hands which held both a dose of tiny pills and a joint. Max considered both.

"…Ibuprofen." She decided, holding her hand out to accept them. Chloe opened a coke for her as well.

"A little caffeine might help. I grabbed you an OJ too, for later."

Max nodded gratefully, taking the pills before sitting back and closing her eyes. The sun was so bright. She heard the engine turn over as Chloe started the truck, and felt it roar to life under her. She felt them pulling onto the highway. Then she felt Chloe's hand on her arm, and she cracked her eyes open. The sun seemed even brighter.

"Why don't you lie down?" The other girl suggested, patting her thighs invitingly. Max wasn't about to argue.

It was darker now that she wasn't in the range of the sun spilling in through the windshield. Chloe's legs made as good a pillow as any. And whenever she could free up a hand, she'd run it through Max's locks, brushing them over her face and then back out of the way.

The brunette was starting to get an understanding for why Chloe enjoyed it so much. It felt heavenly, and distracted her from the pain pulsing in her forehead. Enough so that she found she could doze as Chloe drove. When she would blink awake occasionally she would find the scenery and time had changed rather drastically.

Eventually, she found it in her to stay awake longer than a few seconds.

"Where are we?"

Chloe glanced down, a bit surprised, but then she grinned, and Max couldn't help but smile back.

"Just about to leave Colorado. After a stop, if you know what I mean…" She said, wiggling her eyebrows. Max giggled, sitting up.

"Alright. Don't spend all of the money my headache earned, though. Don't forget that baggie in the pocket of those pants in your bag. The one you bought in Florida." She reminded, rubbing the spot of her head that was still throbbing a bit. Chloe's lips puckered into an O.

"Dude, yeah! I forgot! Shit, thanks."

Max chuckled, leaning over until she could rest against Chloe's side.

"Am I still not allowed to go in?" She wondered, closing her eyes again.

"Fraid not, sweetheart. They'd take one look at you call the cops."

Max pouted weakly, shoving Chloe gently with her shoulder.

"Want some juice?" She asked, reaching for the bag from earlier. Chloe shook her head dismissively, so Max kept it to herself, sipping lazily until Chloe found a dispensary that she liked the look of. Max got out as well, heading into a coffee shop across the street to use the bathroom and order a small hot chocolate when she felt guilty for not buying anything.

With the paper cup in hand, she returned to the truck to find that Chloe wasn't back yet. She _did_ like to take her time where her illegals were involved. Max figured she had a few minutes to kill, and decided to take a quick walk along the sidewalk winding around the buildings. It was probably the last opportunity she'd have to stretch her legs for a while.

There was a pretty area dotted with trees behind the line of businesses, and it made for decent scenery as she waited for Chloe to finish shopping. She remembered Colorado being a sight for sore eyes last time they'd come through, too.

When she rounded the corner again, Chloe was slouched against the truck, waiting with a cigarette pinched between her lips. She grinned dopily as Max approached, reaching out when she neared to wrap her up in her arms.

"Good walk?" She asked absently, finishing her smoke and tossing the butt in a trashcan. Max nodded, following into the truck.

"How was shopping?" She countered, once they'd buckled up. Chloe grinned, pointing to a bag in the floorboard. While they sought their ramp onto the highway, Max perused the contents of the bag. Chloe had done well at not buying too much this time. There was only one small container.

A storm rolled in, and Chloe focused more on seeing the road through the speckled windshield, so Max lost her conversation partner for the most part. The pattering of the rain irritated the headache that was still lurking, but she tried to ignore it. At least the lightning, which was very close and very loud, was pretty to see.

She fell asleep at some point, not waking again till Chloe stopped the truck. The lack of noise jarred the brunette awake, and she blinked groggily, trying to figure out what was going on. The storm had let up and it was sunny again. Chloe was in the process of getting out of the truck, a cigarette dangling from her lips again. Stressful day for her too, it would seem. She paused when she noticed that Max had stirred, though.

"Hey, sleepyhead." She greeted, tugging the unlit cigarette from her lips before leaning in for a kiss. Max smiled. "Bathroom break." She added, lighting up and hopping out.

Max followed suit, stretching with a yawn before joining Chloe where she was leaned up against the side of the truck. It wasn't long before the girl draped an arm over Max's shoulders.

"Nice nap?" She asked, ruffling what must have been already messy hair. Max's nose crinkled.

"Yeah. I still have a headache, though." She admitted, sighing.

Chloe frowned, rubbing the space between the brunette's shoulders, trying to offer some sort of comfort. Max leaned into it, letting her head loll back towards the sky.

"I'm sorry, babe." The taller girl murmured. Max felt a smooch against her temple. She hummed, pressing her face into the crook of Chloe's neck. She remained there till the girl finished her smoke, then they went inside the rest stop they'd pulled into to use the toilets.

Refreshed, Chloe suggested they go for a walk around the area. Max wasn't about to argue with another chance to stretch her legs. They were driving through a National Park, so it would likely be a worthy waste of time.

Max snapped pictures while they walked. She managed to catch a stag grazing across the way, and got a snap of Chloe squealing as she ran through a stream, water splashing up around her boots. In retaliation, Chloe stole the camera and lined them both up with the distant view of tree covered mountains in the background.

The brunette rolled her eyes, but let Chloe do it. They didn't have a lot of pictures of the two of them together, but the ones they did take turned out to be Max's favorites. It helped that Chloe smooched her cheek right before hitting the shutter.

She picked a spot near the stream to sit, holding her arm out until Max nestled into the space, then curling it around her shoulders. Her side was warm compared to the air outside, and the brunette found herself sinking into it.

Chloe's hair caught the breeze and tickled against Max's cheek, but the sensation was quickly replaced by the girl's lips instead. Max turned to catch them with her own, kissing the other girl until she couldn't anymore for want of breath.

"I'm so glad we broke into the same room." The taller girl murmured, and Max could feel the smile on her lips rather than see it. And even though her head hurt, and her body was starting to wear down after traveling for so long, and she really just wanted to sleep for a week, it all seemed like it would be alright as long as Chloe could still smile.

"Me too." She finally replied, shifting as Chloe went limp. If they weren't leaned up against a tree, it might have been problematic, but as it were, she just adjusted so she could balance the weight with her own. Chloe's head dropped to her shoulder, and she smiled, leaning to rest her own on top.

Honestly, things could have wound up much different. What if she'd never met Chloe? What if she'd never decided to sneak into the motel? What if she'd wound up somewhere else instead of Los Angeles? What if she'd never gotten that ticket in the first place? What if Nathan had chosen a different direction? What if she'd never taken the chance to escape?

Chloe must have fallen asleep, for her head slipped from the brunette's shoulder, and she lurched forward. Max only barely caught her shoulder before she faceplanted right into her lap. It made her giggle, to see the girl conked out so completely. She wasn't one for naps, so it was rare to see her dozing during the day.

With some effort, the smaller girl hauled her back up, resting her weight against her shoulder again. It was sort of amazing she didn't stir, though, with all the manhandling.

Glancing down to catch Chloe's hand with her own, she felt her heart stop beating. Or maybe she'd briefly halted time in her shock. It didn't matter.

Chloe's lap was wet, and her shirt staining a familiar dark red. Max knew it was blood before her brain could even come up with the word, and panic rose faster than she could move.

_It's so much blood. How long had she been bleeding? Where from?_

A million half-thoughts flew through her mind as she scrambled to keep the other girl upright. Her stomach was already sinking, but she had to try to keep her wits. She could fix this. But she needed to know what happened.

The source of the blood proved to be a small hole directly through the center of her forehead. And Max knew exactly what that meant. She also knew that, if enough time had passed for her to realize, that it was almost certainly too late already.

Sure enough, before she could raise her hand and start the flow of time back, she felt the bite of a needle sinking into her neck. The drug was fast-acting, and her vision was already spinning as she fell heavily on her arm. Chloe crumpled beside her without any support. While her power made time stutter around her, her grasp on consciousness was too loose for her to truly rewind, and she felt her eyes burn with welling tears as everything she was about to lose came to mind.

Jefferson, who had probably been a few yards away somewhere, stood over her now. He looked annoyed, but also undeniably pleased. Probably because he'd won. And all she could do was to glare up at him with what little energy she had left, to try and make him understand exactly how much he'd taken from her.

Of course, it only made him all the more smug to see her anger, and she saw him smirk as she finally lost the battle with whatever he'd injected her with.

-.-.-+-.-.-

She woke in a chair, hands and legs strapped down. She'd only ever been in that particular sort of chair once before, as a punishment for trying to use her power when it wasn't authorized. Needless to say, after a day of not really moving at all, she'd learned the lesson.

Now, though, she wished she'd put more of an effort into learning how to escape, because she doubted she'd be able to get out before someone noticed she was awake.

What did it even matter anyway? If they were already back to the bunker, which it would seem they were, then it wouldn't do her any good. Her parents were gone. Nathan was gone. Any chance she had of escaping again was gone. Chloe-

God, Chloe.

She sobbed, body sagging as much as the chair allowed her to. She could scream, and wail, and curse every name she knew. But what good would it do? Even if she could somehow fight her way out of the bunker again, which would be almost one hundred percent impossible, it wouldn't matter.

Chloe was gone. She couldn't rewind that far back, even if she started now. Everything that had come to matter to her since she'd found freedom had been taken away from her with one bullet, and she was too late to undo it.

Fate was cruel to her. Perhaps it was because she bent it so carelessly? But what else could she lose, really?

The door opened, and Jefferson strolled in like it was any other day. Like it was just time for another quick test. Like he hadn't just chased her all over the country and ripped everything away from her. Like she wasn't strapped to a chair and mourning the loss of the only person that meant anything to her anymore.

"Good afternoon, Maxine." He greeted, finding it in him to put on a miniscule professional smile.

"Fuck you." She spat back, voice unwavering despite her tears.

He frowned, as if he was looking at a particularly dirty animal that had dared invade his home. As if she had merely said something sort of rude.

"Well, I see you've learned a few things since the last time I saw you." He commented, sitting down across from her. "You've also lost weight. Are you hungry?"

Some part of her considered laughing. It was all so… Mundane. But in the way that her life used to be, not in the way that Chloe was showing her it was _supposed_ to be. It was as if she'd never left. And it terrified her more than anything they could possibly do to her to think that she might get used to it again.

"No." She hissed, staring at her fingers, at her wrists, willing them to be stronger than her restraints. Jefferson was unimpressed.

"Well, that's fortunate. You'll be getting your nutrition through an IV for the time being, since you can't use your hands." He explained, grinning. Of course he was enjoying this. If it was up to him, she'd probably be in much worse conditions, actually.

"Just fucking kill me, already." She grit, trying to clench her fingers. There wasn't enough give for even that.

Jefferson's smile only grew, and he tsked mockingly like he was talking to a petulant toddler in timeout, not a furious superhuman strapped to a chair. He'd always had a way of managing to be condescending in any situation.

"Now Max, why on Earth would we go to all that trouble to get you back if we only wanted to kill you?" He wondered.

And that made her blink.

Why _hadn't_ they killed her yet? In fact, why hadn't they just shot her along with Chloe in Colorado? The whole reason she'd fled in the first place was the threat of death. What had changed their minds? What had she done to make herself worth keeping alive?

Jefferson was very obviously enjoying her confusion.

"Max, did you really think we were going to kill you?" He asked, the tone of his voice making it obvious that he knew the answer. "Someone who can rewind time. Who can literally raise the dead, can undo mistakes, can see the future. Do you think we would just throw a tool like that away?"

She swallowed, refusing to look at him anymore.

"Nathan, yes. His power is useful, and devastating, but more dangerous than it's worth. I can't tell you how much trouble it was keeping that brat as stable as he was for so long. Nathan was expendable."

Was? Had they caught Nathan? Was he dead already? Even though she hadn't really known much about him, some part of Max was saddened. In a way, he'd become something of an ally. She hoped it was quick for him, at least.

"But you? No. Bending time space is an ability we can't afford to lose. We were never going to kill you. Nathan overheard me talking about euthanizing a few of our… Less stable experiments. He assumed you were included."

She was sobbing again as she realized what was going to happen to her. She was going to be strapped to a chair for years. At least until they trusted her enough to let her roam the bunker again. Even then, she'd have assigned armed guards twenty four/seven for the rest of her life. Probably more than one. No visitors, no personal belongings.

They were going to test her, and if she dared refuse, they'd torture her. They were going to change her, break her, and wash her mind out so thoroughly that she wouldn't even know better anymore. She was going to be a weapon for them, as she was always meant to be. Only this time, it was going to be much more abrasive of a process.

They were going to fill her head with nonsense until she couldn't remember her own name, or that she even had one. They were going to prod and puncture and alter her body until she couldn't remember what it felt like to be touched tenderly, to be held and hear someone's heart beating. They were going to take away her very right to choose whether or not she lived or died.

Jefferson sat down, turning his chair to face Max squarely, as if to be an audience member while what little she had left shattered before her. To watch her break. He got a sick satisfaction out of it, she could tell.

He waited till she'd cried herself out before getting up. He was heading for the door, but he stopped at her side to withdraw something from his pocket.

"She had this in her pocket." He explained, placing a polaroid on the table before her.

A corner of it was stained with Chloe's blood, which made Max's stomach lurch. It was the picture she'd taken of them together while they were walking. Max hadn't even noticed her putting it in her pocket.

Chloe had her arm slung around Max's shoulders, and she was smiling even while she kissed the photo-Max's cheek. It made tears well up all over again.

"Poor thing. She really liked you, huh? Too bad."

Max screamed as he left, unable to even find words. He only laughed in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is sort of appropriate, considering how I've been feeling lately. The results of the election have really fucked me up, if I'm being real with you guys. I've dealt with so much political bullshit over the past couple days that I'm too drained at this point to hash it out anymore. I don't want to discuss it at this point. If anyone needs to talk, then feel free to message me on tumblr. I'm here for support if anyone is feeling scared or just needs someone to listen. But I don't want to argue, or debate right now.
> 
> I'm just here to give you guys an update. If you're like me, it'll probably be a welcome distraction. I know it's begun taking me a solid month to update, and I'm sorry. I think I need to play through the game again soon, refresh everything. And I want to go back through and reread from the beginning to keep my ducks in a row.
> 
> On a side note, if any of you are Voltron fans, I have a oneshot up called Glow Stars. It's Klance, Halloween themed, and explicit towards the end. So, you know. Enjoy if that's what you're into.
> 
> Other than that, I've not got a lot to say. I'm gonna get back to drinking and wishing things were different. Stay safe, stay strong.
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


	12. Not a Chapter, but also not a Discontinuation

Hey guys, sorry for the false alarm. I'm sure most of you only came because you thought this was a chapter. It's not, but I thought you guys might like something of an update, considering how long it's been since I updated. 

So, as we all know, life happens. My grandmother recently passed away unexpectedly, so I wound up driving across the country quite suddenly. On top of that, I'm preparing to move at the beginning of the next month or so, my laptop is slowly but surely breaking, I desperately need to get myself a new phone, my car battery died... So I'm working two jobs at the moment, and it doesn't leave me with a lot of free time. I get about four hours to myself a day if I'm lucky, and I have to spend that with my ferrets, so as you can imagine, I've been kind of neglectful with my writing. 

Still, this story is not going to be discontinued. I've got quite a few chapters written already that just need to be edited properly, and I'm working on wrapping it up somewhere between 15-20 chapters. I know it's a lot to ask, but please have a bit of patience with me as I get my life together. I'm doing the best I can, and I haven't forgotten you guys. I seriously appreciate all the support I've been getting, and all of the exceedingly kind comments. They seriously make my day every time. 

That's all I really have to say for the time being. Thanks, as always, for your everlasting patience, and I promise I won't let you guys down. I'll do my best to have a new chapter up soon.

Love and regards <3  
KuroRiya  
九六りや

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, possible readers. Welcome to my twisted mind. This is the sort of thing I think about as I'm showering and falling asleep at night. Sweet dreams kids.
> 
> But honestly, I've been furiously writing on this for weeks, and finally decided to get the first chapter up. I try to stay three chapters ahead of myself, so I can keep some semblance of an update schedule, so I can promise that the first four chapters will come out regularly. We'll see how long I can keep that up… Heh.
> 
> Sorry for the much dreaded chapter of exposition, but the story does pick up in the next one. Chloe is introduced too, which I figure is an important part of a Pricefield fic. Ironically, despite the nature of the story, I still feel like it's sort of slow paced. It might be a bit of a slow burn, too. I'm sort of known for that.
> 
> In regards to Nathan: I have mixed feelings about his character. I initially disliked him a lot, but the more I consider him the sorrier I feel. So I'd just like to say that I did my best to present him in a similar fashion as the game: Not kind, by any means, but also still human, in the deepest sense. I guess it'll be up to the readers to decide if I did good.
> 
> I'll stop babbling. Thanks to anyone who stopped by to read, and feedback is seriously appreciated, especially as I feel out this new cast. I'll have the next one up soon!
> 
> KuroRiya  
> 九六りや


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